MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan minister says trade relations with Argentina “will never be the same”

Kreimerman revealed that 32m dollars in Uruguayan exports are blocked in Argentine customs

Industry, Energy and Mining Minister, Roberto Kreimerman, said Uruguay would try to settle disputes with Argentina in order to reestablish trade relations, but he also recognized Uruguay’s relationship with Argentina 'will never be the same'. The minister revealed that 32 million dollars of Uruguayan exports are blocked at Argentine Customs.

 The official explained that even though Uruguay has adopted an attitude of negotiation regarding trade barriers erected by Argentina, “bilateral trade will never return to previous levels.”

This happens “not only because of the things Uruguay may be able to negotiate, but also due to Argentina itself, which is going through a tough time” Kreimerman expressed and added that “industries are clearly suffering. We must be able to recover the commercial relationship” between both countries”.

Kreimerman, who has held the Industry ministry since the beginning of President José “Pepe” Mujica administration also mentioned that 32 million dollars in Uruguayan goods are stuck at Argentine customs.

However, the possibility of adopting similar measures towards Argentine products was completely discarded, as was limiting the power aid currently supplied by Uruguay to electricity short Buenos Aires metropolitan area.

“Almost every country discards mirror measures (as a way of response)” Kreimerman said. “We have more to lose than to win with these kinds of mechanisms.”

But all in all, Uruguayan industries had been hit by commercial restrictions imposed by Argentina, which have also been made extensive to Argentine exports shipped through the port of Montevideo, which is more efficient and has lower costs, revealed the Uruguayan minister.

“It is clear that there are industries that are suffering and we must be able to recover trade, basically paper, chemicals, clothing and foodstuffs, which are difficult because (in Argentina) there is greater domestic competition,” he said. “Businesses that are still exporting to Argentina do not have many alternatives now”.

However, Kreimerman also played down criticism saying that “there are not that many problems and we still have good auto-part exports”.

Uruguayan Vice-president Danilo Astori also talked about the dispute and said that the latest trade figures show how much trade with Argentina has dropped. ”Together with Brazil and China, Argentina was among out top partners, close to 10% of overall trade, however that percentage has dropped to 5%, which is very significant for Uruguay since they are mostly manufactured goods“.

President Mujica was quoted by Chile's El Mercurio Sunday edition saying that Uruguay has decided now for several decades to be a “broadly open country” compared to Argentina’s increasing protectionist trend.

“It’s crazy to think of Uruguay as a self-sufficient country” Mujica told El Mercurio. “No country, neither big nor small, can actually do it”.

”I believe Argentina is applying policies from the sixties. They are a sovereign country and have all the right to do so, but in Uruguay we have chosen a different path. Our domestic market is too small, not greater than a Sao Paulo City precinct, so we must open and look for other markets” said Mujica.