The Summit of Mercosur Presidents exposed yesterday Tuesday the tensions over the bloc’s trade flexibility.
The opening position of Uruguay, in need of investment and eager to take advantage of thriving markets, has collided with the refusal of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
Uruguay reaffirmed its intention to negotiate a free trade agreement with China and enter the Trans-Pacific Agreement, and called on its partners to explore an agreement with China. “We are one of the most protectionist areas in the world,” warned Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou.
“No one took a plane to seek conflict but to seek a return” to the dispute, said Lacalle, who described the bloc as “an imperfect free trade zone” at the Mercosur headquarters in Montevideo.
“It is true that we arrived with tensions,” admitted the Uruguayan president, who was calm but firm that Uruguay should “open up to the world.” “Of course if we go in a group it’s much better,” he said, “but we’re not willing to stay still.”
Uruguay has questioned the damages of tariff and non-tariff restrictions such as the free movement of people, goods and the growth of asymmetries that Mercosur shows 31 years after its creation.
Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo denounced on Monday a lack of proactivity in concluding trade agreements, particularly with the European Union (EU). “We do not have an agreement with any of the 10 economic powers in the world,” Bustillo lamented.
Disadvantageous
Argentine President Alberto Fernández said that the agreement with the EU is disadvantageous for his country because it does not contemplate asymmetries. He also acknowledged that Uruguay is an autonomous country and can sign a free trade agreement with China, but called for a joint study. Fernández recognized that the “big problem” of Mercosur “is the asymmetries of its members. We never solved them. It’s time to see how we solve them,” he said.
