Brasília, 7/14/2004 (Agência Brasil) - Brazilian and Argentine businessmen are meeting in Buenos Aires today in an attempt to resolve a trade impasse caused by Argentine restrictions on Brazilian exports which has evolved to include a threat to limit truck traffic between Brazil and Chile.

Tomorrow the head of the Brazilian Mercosur oversight group, Marcio Fortes (who is also the executive secretary at the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade), will meet with his Argentine counterpart, Alberto Dumont, for further talks.

And next week, the minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Luiz Fernando Furlan, will meet with the Argentine minister of Economy, Roberto Lavagna, in Buenos Aires.

Argentina, which is coming out of a profound economic crisis, fears that the rising purchasing power of its population will attract a flood of Brazilian goods. They are attempting to stem the inflow of durable consumer goods (mainly refrigerators, stoves, washing machines and TV sets).In fact, Brazilian exports to Argentina, the country's second biggest trade partner, have jumped over 70% so far this year with the improved economic situation there. For the sake of comparison, this year (first five months), Brazilian exports to Argentina have totalled US$615 million; last year the total (December 2002 to December 2003) was US$478 million. At the moment, Brazil has a trade surplus of almost US$200 million with Argentina for the year.

Brazilian authorities say they hope to reach a negotiated agreement, much as they did last year when a similar crisis flared up in the textile sector.

Repórter:Daniel Lima
(Translator:Allen Bennett)