MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

French ambassador defends Sarkozy’s statements claiming Uruguay is a fiscal haven

Ambassador Potton was summoned Monday to Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs ministry

The French ambassador in Montevideo, Jean Christophe Potton said that when President Nicholas Sarkozy named Uruguay and ten other countries as ‘fiscal havens’, which could be isolated from the International community, he was speaking in representation of the G20 countries summit in Cannes.

“We are listening and we are trying to explain which is our position, not France’s but that of G20 and attempting our best possible reply”, said ambassador Potton on Monday.

Potton speaking with a local radio in Montevideo said President Sarkozy’s comments were not an exclusive reference to Uruguay, but to several countries which are all part of a list delivered by OECD referred to fiscal issues.

The list from the Organization for Economic and Cooperation Development accused Uruguay, Panama, Antigua, Barbados, Brunei, Botswana, Seychelles islands, Trinidad Tobago and Vanuatu of not having past the first test, from the Global forum, on fiscal transparency.

Potton said that Uruguay has “a very active policy in the issue” and has made “great strides in the past”, so France trusts the country will be out of the list “very soon”.

“We have with Uruguay from a fiscal point of view, normal relations; last year we signed an agreement for the exchange of fiscal information and we know Uruguay has a similar high level fiscal agreement with Germany, which is France’s main trade partner”.

Potton on Monday was summoned to the Uruguayan Foreign Affairs ministry to explain the extent of President Sarkozy’s words, adding he was ‘at the orders’ of Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro for any further information that might be requested.

Potton admitted that Uruguay’s decision to call its ambassador in Paris for consultations was “a very strong message” and although there is not yet any formal reply from the French government, he did not discard such a possibility.

“I expect to remain in Montevideo but that does not depend on me”, said Potton.

He admitted the existence of a diplomatic “incident” with Uruguay but insisted with the original argument that President Sarkozy was speaking for the G20 group of countries.

Deputy Foreign Affairs minister Roberto Conde described the incident “as very serious” and said President Sarkozy ignored what the situation in Uruguay was, and criticized France for not using the diplomatic channel for such allegations.

Conde said Uruguay is not aware that Mercosur partners, Argentina and Brazil which are also members of G20, had pressed on the French president to make such statements, but anyhow they took advantage of the situation “to send Uruguay a message: sit at the table and begin (tax exchange) negotiations”.

Conde added that in more than an occasion Argentina has included Uruguay in ‘a list of global fiscal havens’, a category shared by some groups in Brazil.

Potton added that Argentina and Brazil effectively participate in the outlining of the G20 fiscal policy to avoid evasion, and said it was most unfair because “the current situation allows a small percentage of the richer of the two countries to clearly evade taxes”.

Uruguay has systematically refused to exchange fiscal information on a bilateral basis with Argentina since it mistrusts the use that might be given to all the privileged data.

Uruguay has been traditionally a refuge for Argentines mistrustful of their country’s economic policies and political system.