MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian industry claims Mercosur is ‘paralyzed’ and blasts Argentina’s ‘illegal barriers’ on trade

Former ambassador Barbosa criticized Brazilian diplomacy “strategic patience” with Argentina

Brazil’s powerful manufacturers’ lobby openly criticized the “illegal barriers” imposed by the government of President Cristina Fernandez on Brazilian produce, and also lashed at President Dilma Rousseff for her administration’s “permissive attitude” towards Buenos Aires, a position that has “paralyzed Mercosur”.

“Argentina continues to impose illegal barriers to trade with its Mercosur partners”, claimed the head of Sao Paulo Federation of Industries (FIESP) Foreign Trade Council, Rubens Barbosa.

 The former Brazilian ambassador in Washington also made the criticism extensive to President Rousseff for her administration’s “permissive attitude towards Buenos Aires” in what he described as a “strategic patience” from Brasilia to avoid diplomatic tensions with a very important trade partner.

 In an article under the heading of “The state of the world 2013” the FIESP top official besides retaking the repeated questionings of the Argentine government position regarding foreign trade, including with its Mercosur partners, again underlines the difficulties and ‘illegal barriers’ faced by Brazilian businesspeople.

 Barbosa insists that Mercosur remains ‘paralyzed’ and has shown no advances towards and understanding on trade liberalization and the opening of the Argentine market for Brazilian produce.

 Next March Cristina Fernandez and Dilma Rousseff are scheduled to hold their next bilateral meetings, this time in the Patagonian city of El Calafate where the Argentine leader has her summer home.

 Argentina and Brazil hold top level meetings twice a year to address bilateral issues such as trade, investments and regional politics.

 Argentine ambassador in Brasilia Luis Maria Kreckler said that a preparatory meeting will be held at the end of February with an ‘open agenda’, which will be followed by the summit, ‘most probably March 4 in El Calafate, Santa Cruz province. The last bilateral top level meeting took place in Brasilia last December.