MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina and Brazil agree to jointly promote trade and manufacturing

Giorgi and Pimentel responsible for ‘productive integration’

Argentina and Brazil agreed on Friday to “increase” in the “short term” regional trade in a shared strategy to address the consequences of the global crisis. The commitment was endorsed by Argentina’ Industry minister Debora Giorgi and her Brazilian counterpart Fernando Pimentel.

The meeting had the purpose of advancing in the Productive Integration Mechanism which was agreed last week by presidents Cristina Fernandez and Dilma Rousseff during a bilateral meeting held in Caracas, Venezuela.

According to an official release the two senior partners of Mercosur agreed “to advance towards a major participation in regional trade in the short term”.

The two ministers approved the “instrumentation of bi-national financing mechanisms which enable a greater thrust in market access and an improved integration of the productive systems of both countries”.

It was also agreed to advance towards an auto industry regime with a greater demand of regional content in auto part and spares which privilege added value and the development of domestic providers with a greater technological input”.

Other areas covered by productive integration mechanism include not only auto parts but also components for the gas, oil, naval and air industries.

”This process must involve actively the participation of multinational corporations so that they set up local suppliers and contribute to the technological development of the region”.

The Brazilian delegation promised to report in the next two weeks on a mechanism for Argentine suppliers to bid in Brazil’s public sector purchasing. According to recent measures to privilege domestic industry as suppliers of the government, Brazil grants an extra handicap to local companies when bidding for public sector contracts.

The bilateral ministerial meeting was also attended by Argentine Industry and Trade Secretary, Eduardo Bianchi, his Brazilian counterpart Alessandro Teixeira, Argentine ambassador in Braisilia, Luis Maria Kreckler and his Brazilian counterpart in Buenos Aires, Ambassador Enio Cordeiro.