MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

EU takes Argentina’s “restrictive measures” on trade to the WTO

Argentine Secretary of Trade and International Economic Relations, Alfredo Chiaradía,

The first week of negotiations in years between the European Union and Mercosur to reach a political and trade association agreement that took place in Buenos Aires did not end well.

The EU delegation anticipated that as had been announced it will take this week the problem of Argentine restrictive measures on EU foodstuff imports to the World Trade Organization.

The EU warning that had been floating since the discussions begun last week was confirmed at the end of the round by the head of the EU delegation Joao Aguiar Machado, Deputy Director-General for External Relations and Trade, who nevertheless considered the talks “very fruitful”.

“This week we will be taking the problem of Argentine restrictive measures to the World Trade Organization”, said Aguiar Machado.

However, the Argentine Government insisted on denying the restrictions and rejected that this situation could interfere in negotiations for an agreement of the EU 27 with the Mercosur.
 

“This problem is being taken out of proportion, making something huge out of something small. We have seen the hurricane of European declarations as if the bilateral trade between the EU and Argentina were being destroyed, and we're talking about 100,000 or 200,000 dollars,” the Argentine Secretary of Trade and International Economic Relations, Alfredo Chiaradía, said.

For the Argentine official, in charge of the Mercosur negotiations, the EU's claims regarding the supposed ban on foodstuffs is being given a “political use” with the objective of “dividing the Mercosur,” or with the objective of “justifying” in the future, paralyzing the re-launched negotiations.

Chiaradía recognized that “in Europe, there is fear of an agreement with Mercosur due to agriculture,” and he admitted that there are “four containers that are delayed” at the Argentine port, but he insisted that there is not measure banning imports.

The Argentine Industry Minister, Débora Giorgi, also denied there were restrictive measures and clarified that the dispositions adopted in cases of disloyal competition are in accordance to WTO regulations.

According to Giorgi, in the first semester of 2010, 19,000 tons of foodstuffs entered the EU, 38% more in relation to the same period of last year. “We see how developed countries use multilateral organizations as courts to judge alleged measures of developing countries, when they have been the ones that have been able to sustain productive sectors on the basis of subsidies and protectionist measures,” Industry Secretary, Eduardo Bianchi, added.

Argentina, temporary president of the Mercosur, has not published any formal regulation prohibiting the entry of European products, but importers have complained of pressures and bureaucratic delays in customs formalities.

In a moment “in which we're re-launching negotiations, a measure of this type does not help to create a good trust environment,” and if “this continues and gets worse, it could make conversations difficult” because “people wonder how we're going to negotiate a liberation agreement when there are countries precisely blocking,” Aguiar Machado evaluated.

Despite the difficulties, the European official highlighted the existence of “a clear will” on the part of the EU and of the Mercosur countries to make the dialogue progress and “improve their offers” regarding 2004, when conversations initiated in 1999 were blocked due to the impossibility of reaching an agreement.

The negotiations are developed in a context of pressure on the part of agriculture sectors of several European countries that rejected negotiations with Mercosur because they consider it would affect their interests, sin the South Americans are among the world's largest foodstuffs producers.

The EU and Mercosur delegations are to meet in Europe in September after exchanging specific offers in order to advance in negotiations