MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Protectionism as tall as the Andes”

Uruguayan president Jorge Batlle interrupted a conference in the Uruguayan-British Chamber of Commerce when the speaker began praising the virtues of the Chilean model of open economy with minimum tariffs, recalling that “they are one of the more protectionists in the universe when it comes to agriculture”.

"Chile might have an enviable flat minimum tariff but when it comes to agriculture it turns into a mountain as high as the Andes", said President Batlle interrupting Alejandro Vegh Villegas, a former Uruguayan Finance Minister and former Ambassador in the United States, who was the main speaker at the annual gathering of the Uruguayan-British Chamber of Commerce.

John Everad, British Ambassador in Uruguay and Stella Zervoudaki European Union Ambassador in Montevideo were present at the event.

"Chile's success is something different in Latinamerica, and its unique success is based on the fact it has followed an independent policy, unilateral, leaving aside many of the recommendations of the international multilateral institutions, and has imposed a Customs tariff system which is one of the best in the world, uniform, without any dispersion, that now stands at 6%", said Mr. Vegh Villegas adding that with the agreement with Canada and recent signing with the European Union Customs tariff will drop to 3,5%, flat, free of corruption and free of inefficiencies, "and this is something I've always wanted for Uruguay".

It was then that President Batlle contradicted Mr. Vegh Villegas saying the tariff was not at all flat, "even in good countries there are horrible things; when we tried to fully incorporate Chile to Mercosur they requested 14 years to adjust and improve their agriculture tariffs, fourteen years?.".

"They follow the European model" replied Mr. Vegh Villegas. "Yes, unfortunately, yes, and that is why they reached an agreement with the Europeans so quickly. They both protect very much their farmers", remarked president Batlle.

Mr. Vegh Villegas also gave a very dismal prospect for Latinamerica and its influence in the world.

"In the last twenty years per capita average growth in Latinamerica and the Caribbean has been 0,35%, so to double it we will be needing 200 years".