MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei would have no qualms breaking up with Mercosur if need be for FTA with US

Milei is willing to pay any price to drive along what he thinks is prosperity's road

Argentine President Javier Milei said in an interview with Bloomberg in Davos (Switzerland) that if breaking up with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) was a requirement to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, he would not hesitate to do it.

Ahead of his appearance before the World Economic Forum (WEF), Milei admitted that such a hypothesis was indeed extreme. He also reckoned that parting with the regional bloc would be a high price to pay on the road to prosperity.

“We believe that it can be achieved without abandoning what we have in terms of Mercosur,” Milei stressed during his conversation with Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait.

“We are exploring ways in which Argentina can open up to international trade because the division of labor brings prosperity,” he also pointed out.

Despite not hiding his administration's interest in the subject, he declined to either admit or deny whether an FTA had been on the table during his recent talks with US President Donald Trump. The Libertarian Government has been “working very strongly” in this regard.

Argentina is betting on a renewed international acceptance given Milei's ideological affinity to the Republican leader, despite consensus that Trump would privilege US production.