Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero and his Brazilian counterpart, Carlos França, announced this Friday (08.10.2021) the "necessary consensus" for the review of the Common External Tariffgoverning MERCOSUR, after a meeting held at the Itamaraty Palace, in which the bilateral agenda was also reviewed.
The reduction in import tariffs on non-MERCOSUR products "takes into account the different needs of the member countries," says the joint statement, which also indicates that the proposal must be presented to the other partners, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The joint statement released states that "the Ministers achieved the necessary consensus to define, together with the other MERCOSUR partners, the scope and characteristics of the Review of the Common External Tariff«.
In this regard, officials stressed that this is "an important step towards increasing the competitiveness of the Member States and towards strengthening regional production processes" that "promote a beneficial insertion of MERCOSUR production in global value chains."
They thus agreed to work with Paraguay and Uruguay for the "prompt approval of a Decision of the Common Market Council" that would allow "a 10% reduction in the rates of most of the tariff universe, safeguarding the exceptions that already exist within the bloc."
The Foreign Ministers stressed that the agreement reached "considers the different needs" of the member countries, demonstrating MERCOSUR's ability to "advance constructively towards updating and adapting its tariff structure to the current conditions of regional and global trade in a balanced manner with respect to the productive capacities of the bloc."
Also, in the context of the water crisis affecting the Paraná BasinThe Ministers "valued the cooperation between both countries to mitigate its effects on navigation, on the use of water for human consumption, hydroelectric generation and the environment." The statement said that both expressed "their satisfaction with the cooperation in the energy area, which includes the export of electricity from thermoelectric sources by Argentina" and "the resulting water savings in the reservoirs of Brazilian hydroelectric plants, for the mutual benefit of both populations."
"They also agreed to deepen discussions on the sale of gas by Argentina in the Brazilian market," the joint statement said, adding that they agreed to convene "as soon as possible" the next meeting of the Joint Technical Commission in charge of the binational hydroelectric project of Garabí, in the shared stretch of the Uruguay River.
In the area of infrastructureThe Ministers agreed to resume the dialogue on the new bridges over the Uruguay River, including the road crossing project between Porto Xavier and San Javier. In this context, they resolved to instruct their Foreign Ministries to coordinate the work in order to agree on a management regime for the Santo Tomé-Sao Borja International Bridge and its Unified Border Center, after the end of its current concession. They also agreed on the importance of giving a firm push to the completion of a bioceanic road corridor that will connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, crossing Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile.
Finally, regarding border integration, a meeting of competent authorities will be convened to exchange information on the operation of border crossings between both countries with a view to improving coordination at these crossings and seeking to increase their efficiency.Joint Statement Brazil-Argentina)
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