Brasília - The trade disputes between Brazil and Argentina won't harm the Mercosur negotiations at the bloc's summit negotiations next week in Ouro Preto, in the state of Minas Gerais. This is the opinion of the general sub-secretary of Trade Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, Ambassador Luiz Felipe de Macedo Soares.

According to the Ambassador, the technical negotiations preceding the summit, since yesterday (14) in Belo Horizonte, haven't suffered the effect of Argentina's threat to impose restrictions on the importation of goods from Brazil. "The bilateral aspect of our relations, be they between Brazil and Argentina or other countries, haven't come to the forefront, nor have they interfered with our understandings. And I state this in a definitive manner, because it could make things not move ahead. And there was nothing of the sort, the Ambassador said.

Macedo Soares emphasized that the problems in the negotiations among the Mercosur countries have to do with the issues that are at stake and have nothing to do with bilateral impasses.

The Ambassador said that he didn't converse with the executive-secretary of the Chamber of Foreign Trade (Camex), Mário Mugnaini, who stated yesterday that Brazil would give Argentina 30 days to revise its tax excises on Brazilian exports, to avoid the Brazilian government's imposing restrictions on Argentinean products such as rice, wine, and wheat.

"The bilateral understandings with Argentina on Friday (10) will be followed up by the same delegation in January, so that there there is no need of conversation or hasty decisions or threats on either side," the Brazilain Ambassador stated.

According to Macedo Soares, Brazil and Argentina are passing through a phase of correcting mistakes, against a background of increasing exports between the two countries. "Brazil's exports to Argentina are on a record level, and Argentina's exports to Brazil are also growing. So there is an interest in this trade. There is no negative effect in the understandings between the two countries, nor in bilateral terms. In the Mercosur, this doesn't amount to anything," he concluded.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Gabriela Guerreiro
Translator: David Silberstein
12/15/2004