MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil’s top industry organization head calls Argentine minister “cry-baby”

FIESP president Paulo Skaf recommends Argentina looks at what they are doing

While Argentine and Brazilian officials are involved in a ‘constructive dialogue’ to overcome trade disputes the head of the powerful Sao Paulo Federation of Industries, FIESP, Paulo Skaf said that Argentine Industry minister Debora Giorgi tends to “over-cry” the restrictions imposed on car imports to Brazil.

Skaf thus confirmed FIESP support for the Brazilian government 60 days non automatic licences on car imports which have had a tremendous impact on Argentina since Brazil absorbs almost 50% of the country’s production and they represent 40% of total exports to the main Mercosur partner.

“Minister Debora, whom I know and consider a friend, should stop ‘over crying’ because she’s always creating problems in trade with Brazil. The non automatic licence system was implemented for all countries, not only for Argentina, and we keep to the 60 days limit”, said Skaf who added that some Brazilian imports have been waiting access to the Argentine market for “over ten months”.

“Argentines should look more to what they are doing. Debora is demanding too much and she likes to play the cry-baby part”, said Skaf who pointed out that the Brazilian government’s mistake has been ‘not to have acted before’.

Brazil’s Minister for Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Fernando Pimentel denied the non automatic licences was a reprisal or targeted on Argentina that has applied a similar scheme on hundreds of Brazilian produce.

Brazilian media reported that President Dilma Rousseff is willing to solve trade issues with Argentina to preserve good relations with her peer Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

“Nobody can make us turn mad on our brothers”, said Marco Aureilo Garcia, President Rousseff’s top foreign affairs advisor referring to the bilateral trade dispute. He added that the only instructions from President Rousseff have been “to preserve and advance the good relations established between the two (woman) presidents”.

Meantime in Buenos Aires Industry minister Giorgi said Argentina will not be engaged in any negotiations that could effectively leave a single Argentine citizen without a job and will not allow local small or medium sized business to decrease their growth.

“We all contribute to strengthen our domestic market with active public policies, so when it comes to protecting it, we will all be there” Debora Giorgi said, as she assured “we will not be naïve and we will not back down from any negotiation that we believe may affect a single job position”.

The minister then warned that “defending our domestic market will not create any rifts in our relationship with other countries. Argentina is capable of sitting at the table to negotiate and make the exact same demands other countries are making: to have trade agreements that produce benefits on both sides of the border”.

Giorgi explained that “the reindustrialization process that Argentina began in 2003 was achieved by the entire population and we’re not changing course,” and aimed her comments at those who “don’t want income redistribution to be more equitable.”

“A country that has no industry is relegated and poor” emphasized Giorgi.