According to the scheduled agenda, the LX Summit of Presidents of MERCOSUR was held this Thursday (21.07.2022) in person in Asunción (Paraguay), with the attendance of the leaders, who addressed important topics.
The following people participated in the meeting: Argentine President Alberto Fernández, Uruguayan Luis Lacalle Pou, who received the leadership of the bloc for the next semester, Paraguayan Mario Abdo Benítez, Foreign Minister Carlos Franco França for Brazil, and high-ranking authorities from Associated States in the region.
The summit left consensus in the trade area and political differences related to the methodology of negotiating a trade association agreement with countries that are not members of the bloc, for example: China.
What were the consensuses?
Among the main consensuses reached during the first half of the year, according to the Paraguayan president, the following stand out:
- Common External Tariff: the reduction of the Common External Tariff (CET) to 10% (CMC Decision 8/2022).
- Physical infrastructure: the Creation of the MERCOSUR Physical Infrastructure Working Group.
- Update of the Regulation of the Olivos Protocol for the Resolution of MERCOSUR Disputes.
- Extra-regional agenda: conclusion of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with Singapore.
In this regard, the final declaration of the summit recognized "the efforts made during the present semester to continue the adaptation of the bloc, with a view to improving its competitiveness and the integration of the member states in the regional and extra-regional economic sphere, also strengthening regulatory harmonization and the institutional structure of Mercosur."
They also agreed to join forces to design effective and efficient policies to promote the inclusive, sustainable and resilient reactivation of the region, to accelerate the processes for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals contained in the 2030 Agenda.
Regarding differences, the leaders of Argentina and Paraguay expressed their disagreements regarding Uruguay's individual decision to initiate trade negotiations with markets outside the region such as China.
Before receiving the Pro Tempore Presidency, President Lacalle Pou expressed in his speech his country's willingness to negotiate bilaterally with other states. On this point, he agreed with what was expressed by the Brazilian Foreign Minister, Carlos Alberto França, at the Ordinary Meeting of the MERCOSUR Common Market Council held this Wednesday (20.07.2022), regarding carrying out a process of modernization and flexibility of the regional organization.
The Uruguayan president referred, in this regard, to the completion of the feasibility study to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement with the People's Republic of China, and confirmed that in the coming days technical teams from both countries will begin work with this objective. "Once this stage is advanced, the first thing we want to do is talk with the MERCOSUR partners, to go all together," he said.
Lacalle Pou also reported that Uruguay's international insertion agenda includes other ongoing negotiations, and that in all cases the members of MERCOSUR will be duly informed. "As we did with China, we will do with other countries and other blocs," he said.
At the end of the summit, Mario Abdo Benítez handed over the Pro Tempore Presidency of MERCOSUR to Luis Lacalle Pou, who received the wooden gavel that represents the authority of the bloc to manage, in the second half of 2022, joint work between nations with common rules in the same region.Speech by Mario Abdo Benitez) (Speech by Luis Lacalle Pou)
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