Brazil, Argentina aim to boost trade
Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa speaks at a press conference along with his Brazilian counterpart Fernando Haddad at the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires.
Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said they were looking to stimulate bilateral trade.
"Trade is really bad and the problem is precisely the foreign currency, right? So we are trying to find a solution, something in common that could make commerce grow," Haddad told reporters.
Europe must “clear up” the “barriers” affecting the competitiveness of Argentinean and Brazilian products in order for the trade agreement concluded with MERCOSUR to be implemented, Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa said.
“When discussing the Mercosur-European Union agreement, there are some issues on the horizon that Europe needs to clarify,” Massa said, citing agricultural subsidies “which act as a barrier to the competitiveness of Argentinean and Brazilian food products” as an example.
“In this sense, the problem of moving forward in any bloc agreement arises from what barriers they create to the competitiveness of products in which MERCOSUR or South America are competitive,” such as proteins and minerals, he added.
“Agreements cannot be beneficial to only one of the parties, otherwise they are not agreements, but obligations,” Massa commented along with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, who accompanied President Luiz Inacio Lulu da Silva during his visit to the State in Argentina.
