This Tuesday (06.12.2022) the LXI Summit of Heads of States Parties of Mercosur and Associated States was held in the city of Montevideo, where Argentina assumed the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), for the first semester of 2023.
At this ceremony, the Argentine President Alberto Fernandez He expressed concern about individual positions and stressed the intention to promote unity within the bloc.
It was in response to the speech by the host, Luis Lacalle Pou, who defended his government's decision to open the Uruguayan economy to the world, beyond Mercosur, in particular its intention to join the Trans-Pacific Treaty and move forward with a free trade agreement with China.
In further detail, Fernández stressed the strategic importance of the bloc for food production on a global scale, where there are areas of the planet that depend on exports from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.
"I think the way forward is to review once and for all how we resolve the asymmetries we have," he said in direct reference to his Uruguayan counterpart, and to do so "corrections will have to be made," he said.
In turn, the Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao, called for “respecting the founding principles of Mercosur and building internal consensus.”
Also, the Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez He called for dialogue to resolve trade differences and, in particular, the asymmetry that particularly affects his country, which has no access to the sea and has difficulties in accessing the world market. “Globalization forces us to build a common strategy for the future,” he concluded.
Thus, Argentina assumed the pro tempore maximum political and legal representation of Mercosur with the challenge of promoting integration between countries in a global context characterized by multiple uncertainties regarding political and economic realities on a global scale and in different regions.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
