09/11/2021 12:30
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 9/11/2021 12:30
China would not be the only country with which Uruguay has advanced negotiations to close agreements outside Mercosur.
After the confirmation of the Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou, last Tuesday, of the negotiations with the Asian country, now his Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo announced that
they are
already
"sitting down to negotiate" with "other countries"
that are interested in signing treaties. and he trusted that
"soon we may be able to make another announcement,"
according to the Uruguayan newspaper
El País
.
The chancellor made these statements on Friday in the framework of an event organized by the Confederation of Business Chambers.
Asked if the new interested in signing trade agreements with Uruguay also belong to the Asian continent, Bustillo replied:
"We are not ruling out any country."
Regarding the negotiations to reach a Free Trade Agreement with China, Bustillo pointed out that
the Asian giant raised the intention of being able to complete the pre-feasibility study before the end of the year
and then advance the agreement.
However, Bustillo said that he is
"cured of fright"
in terms of the time that international negotiations take, alluding to the
more than 20 years that the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) took
, a treaty in which " there are still issues to be closed, "according to the Uruguayan newspaper.
However, the foreign minister said that although the government is "very concerned" by the antecedent of the delay in the agreement with the EU, he is optimistic given that the "closest" experience when talking about an eventual agreement with China is that of Chile,
whose negotiations took two years to complete.
"I prefer to encourage the expectation that we have two years ahead of us and if we could, less as well.
In any case, these rates and possibilities will be provided to us in the first instance by this pre-feasibility study in which
we have already begun to exchange terms of reference
”with China to see which sectors of economic activity in both countries can benefit and harmed by the Treaty, explained Bustillo.
On this point, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Azucena Arbeleche stated that the Uruguayan government values and vindicates the Mercosur brand but
highlighted the fact that Uruguay has taken "concrete steps" to negotiate with countries outside the
regional
bloc
"in search of of greater competitiveness ”.
Despite the bloc's stance not to allow its partners to negotiate trade agreements with third countries unilaterally and after the reactions that were triggered in Argentina, Bustillo indicated that the relationship with the Mercosur internal is "very good" and ratified that " there is a very good understanding regarding Uruguay's position ”even though we
do not“ always agree on everything ”.
This Wednesday, the Minister of Productive Development, Matías Kulfas indicated at the exit of the economic cabinet that
the Mercosur regulations "are very clear" and that trade agreements "are made en bloc"
and not bilaterally.
"It is a decision that the Uruguayan government will make and we will be observing what it does," he said.
“It is clear that Uruguay is a sovereign country and can make the most convenient decision.
You can make a bilateral agreement with China outside of Mercosur
or you can continue in Mercosur,
"said the minister.
NE
Look also
Mercosur: Luis Lacalle Pou confirmed that Uruguay is advancing "towards the world with other partners" such as China
The Government crossed into Uruguay: "You can agree with China or continue in Mercosur"
