MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Customs Code and productive cohesion in Mercosur's agenda

Wrapping up the Customs Code, productive integration and advancing in trade talks with India and the South Africa Customs Union are the main objectives on which Mercosur will be fully committed until next July, announced Argentina which holds the group's chair for the next six months.

Alfredo Chiradía, Secretary for International Economic Relations of the Argentine Foreign Affairs ministry said this week that the Customs Code, a vital integration instrument which has been under discussion for thirteen years and the draft is almost finished, is a priority for the first half of this year, so that the different congresses can ratify it in the second half, becoming effective in 2009. The code among other things eliminates the double customs' tariff which most Mercosur members continue to enforce, helping the group to become an effective customs union promoting the free movement of goods. In the last Mercosur summit held in Montevideo it was also agreed that in the coming 180 days a "productive integration" program had to be approved with the purpose of establishing a supply system from out of the region, for the manufacturing base of the group, thus helping to further ensure inter dependency. Regarding international relations, the European Union and Mercosur are scheduled to resume free trade negotiations early this year. But because negotiations have been stalled since 1999 over disagreements on agricultural import restrictions not much is expected. However since last December the EU donated 50 million Euros to Mercosur for the improvement of technical standards among Mercosur members and to promote Mercosur to public opinion, the pace to an interregional association agreement could finally begin picking up. (The EU is Mercosur's main trading partner having purchased in 2007 for the value of 36 billion Euros). Chiaradía also announced that under Argentina's six months chair reaching a tripartite free trade agreement with India and the South African Customs Union is a priority objective. Mercosur signed last December its first trade agreement with an out of the region country, Israel.