Belo Horizonte - The removal of obstacles to free trade among the countries that belong to the Mercosul (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay) is one of the things in need of a solution during the summit meeting of the bloc in Belo Horizonte and Ouro Preto (MG). The Brazilian national coordinator of the Mercosul, Ambassador Luiz Felipe de Macedo Soares, said, yesterday (13), that this is one of the most important and complicated matters on the agenda of the 17th Meeting of the Council of the Foreign Market, which began yesterday.

The chief item under discussion is the reduction of the double collection of the Joint External Tariff (TEC), an instrument that regulates imports from other members of the Mercosul. "Ending the double collection of the TEC and, most importantly, to establish a single control of goods and unify customs receipts," said Ambassador Macedo Soares.

In addition to the proposals to establish a fund to finance development in countries like Uruguay and Paraguay,whose economies are more laggard in the bloc, discussions are in an advanced stage for the liberalization of service activities among the Mercosul countries.Jointly with the meeting of the bloc, negotiations are proceeding with India and the members of the South African Customs Union. According to Ambassador Macedo Soares, the agreements on tariff preferences will be concluded this week. Discussions with African countries will cover tarifff reductions on two thousand products.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Aline Bastos
Translator: David Silberstein
12/14/2004