Argentina as a chair of Mercosur: priority is the trade accord with European Union; Venezuela not included

Argentina's priority as chair of Mercosur which officially took over this week will be to advance negotiations with the European Union for a wide ranging trade agreement which will not include Venezuela, anticipated foreign minister Susana Malcorra .

“One of the most important issues for Mercosur, if not the most pressing are negotiations with the European Union. This is a priority and Venezuela has always being absent of these talks” pointed out the Argentine minister before the Mercosur chair-taking ceremony with Brazil's, Paraguay's and Uruguay's Foreign ministers on Wednesday. Malcorra also said she met that day for over an hour with Venezuelan Foreign minister, Delcy Rodriguez, who expected to participate in the meeting.

“We explained to the minister that there was no invitation extended to her country to attend” the XIth Extraordinary meeting of the Mercosur Council, while Rodriguez made it plain clear that “Venezuela rejected the arguments of the decision suspending” her country.

Malcorra and Rodriguez were later joined by Uruguay's Nin Novoa and Bolivia's foreign minister David Choquehuanca who arrived in Buenos Aires with the Venezuelan minister early dawn Wednesday. “It was an open frank dialogue with notorious interpretation differences” admitted Malcorra while Rodriguez said she was demanding respect for Venezuela.

Not ignoring the fact that the suspension of a country member is something very serious, (in reference to Venezuela), Malcorra insisted that what must be ensured is that the four founding members of the group advance on a common agenda.

Venezuela was suspended from Mercosur last December first when the three months timetable for the regime of president Nicolas Maduro to incorporate rules and rulings of the block was up and non complied, particularly those referred to trade and human rights. However Venezuela has rejected the suspension and argues it was motivated on political grounds.

Nevertheless Malcorra was optimistic about Venezuela's return to Mercosur, once it complies with all basic commitments particularly on trade and human rights.

”Tomorrow (Thursday), Venezuela will begin to implement the mechanism to solve controversies contemplated in the Olivos Protocol“, said Macorra, who despite admitting the ”enormous differences between Venezuela and Mercosur founding members, I'm optimistic“.

Malcorra finally informed that Argentina has taken the pro tempore chair of Mercosur for the next six months and revealed that she was decided to actively promote the block to other markets and conform integrated negotiation teams to jointly address the issues of Mercosur agenda.

”Our top priority is to move forward with current negotiations for a free trade accord with the EU, and to advance in other options with Japan, India, Canada, China and the US”.

Supposedly the handing over of the Mercosur chair on Wednesday should put an end to the controversial period, which had three members decisively willing to condemn Venezuela, while Uruguay, whose ruling coalition is divided on the issue had a more hesitant, foot dragging attitude. Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, has demanded to have a personal meeting with Uruguay's Tabare Vázquez as soon as possible on the matter.

Source: Mercopress Agency

Read More

Macri sees future integration of Mercosur with the Pacific Alliance

Argentine President Maurício Macri argued that Latin America needs greater economic integration and a merger of Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance should be the objective. In an interview with the Japanese agency Nikkei, Macri insisted in loosening trade restrictions in his country and the region.

“First, we have to boost Mercosur,” Macri said, suggesting he was ready to take the lead in breaking down tariffs and other barriers to trade within the bloc.

Mercosur members cannot unilaterally sign free trade agreements with outside countries unless there's a full consensus on the issue. Nevertheless Macri said Mercosur is “ready for negotiation with Japan.”

Attempts to build broad economic zones in the region are nothing new. The proposed 34-nation Free Trade Area of the Americas was to span North and South America and the Caribbean, excluding Cuba, and produce a functioning bloc by the end of 2005. But the effort foundered amid resistance by then-Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and other opponents, including Nestor Kirchner and Lula da Silva.

After that failure, free trade proponents Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia formed the Pacific Alliance. The bloc seeks closer ties with Asia, having given observer status to Japan, China, South Korea, India and other nations on the continent.

Argentina became one of the 49 observer countries to the Pacific Alliance in June, with Macri's government apparently trying to show that his country is open for business.

Macri described observer status as the first step toward market integration. Together, the two blocs would have a combined gross domestic product of roughly US$4.5 trillion, about the size of Japan's GDP, creating a more powerful magnet for investment.

Source: Agencia Mercopress

Read More

23rd August Mercosur Meeting to decide sanctions on Venezuela

The coordinators of Mercosur founding members will decide next 23 August at a meeting in Montevideo on the legal measures to be applied on Venezuela, which self proclaimed itself the presidency of the group and is also questioned for not complying with the rules and regulations to be incorporated to the group. In that case Venezuela could lose its full member status.

At the end of July, when Uruguay devolved its six-month Mercosur presidency, the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro self-proclaimed the rotating pro tempore position, triggering an unprecedented situation in the South American block.

Apparently, on 23 August coordinators will be convened to continue with the 4 August meeting in recess, in Montevideo, to find a way out to the situation created by Venezuela's self proclamation. Paraguay and Brazil are determined to go ahead while Argentina is less intense on the issue and Uruguay is blamed for having created the special situation.

According to Paraguay's deputy foreign minister Rigoberto Gauto, Venezuela has not complied with 200 rules, regulations and protocols it should have completed on the 12 August deadline as has been agreed four years back, in 2012 when the country was incorporated to the group. Thus, on 23 August the coordinators will elaborate a full report on the situation.

Brazil has rejected Venezuela's self proclaimed presidency describing the post as vacant, while Paraguay argues it is a “de facto” occupation of the presidency.

Argentina argues that the transfer of Mercosur presidency is not automatic, “never has been, there has always been a Mercosur Council meeting for the event, including a full report from the rotating chair handing over the position. It is at that precise moment that transfer takes place”, said Susana Malcorra.

“Unfortunately Uruguay's decision to abandon the presidency on a given date via a letter has put us in a very difficult situation, there has been no transfer, but it has been assumed there was such a transfer. We have a vacuum in Mercosur which is bad for the group's standing in the region and internationally”, added the Argentine minister.

Malcorra also said that Venezuela's foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez has a very strong conviction as to her country's presidency of Mercosur. “She's strong, passionate and a convinced defender of Venezuela perspective, I'm not going to get involved in a confrontation dialogue, because I insist my major concern is the world's vision of Mercosur”.

Paraguayan foreign minister Eladio Loizaga sent a letter to his colleagues referred to the different steps undertaken by the group, in accepting the incorporation of Venezuela. It was first subscribed in Caracas in July 2006 and finally confirmed on December 2013, but the previous step was the political acceptance vote in June 2012, when Paraguay had been suspended.

Source: MercoPress Agency

Read More