Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou (left) and Argentinian President Alberto Fernández (right) during the Mercosur Summit in Montevideo, December 5, 2022. Photo: AP/Matilde Campodónico.
This Tuesday, December 6, Uruguay’s President Luis Lacalle Pou stated that his country intends to negotiate with China and the Trans-Pacific Agreement in conjunction with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). Lacalle Pou made the comments during the Mercosur summit taking place in Montevideo, Uruguay.
“When we reported to the member states that we started negotiations with China, we did it because we are negotiating to start an FTA (free trade agreement),” said Lacalle Pou. “But we are looking around, and we asked Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, ‘are we all going together?’ The same with Turkey and with the Trans-Pacific. This is not about rupture. I promise that I will not use that word anymore. It is about resolving tensions abroad.”
Lacalle Pou expressed his opinion that it is advantageous for Uruguay to move forward as a member of a group, and warned that his country is not willing to “stand still.”
“Personally, what we are willing to do is move forward and not wait,” said Lacalle Pou. “Whoever stands still falls behind. The proposal is to terminate the agreement, of which we have been critical, with the European Union (EU), not because of Mercosur’s attitude but because we have received inputs from the EU that are making complicating the situation. We cannot take 25 years to sign an agreement, it is not serious, that is why we intend to continue expanding Uruguay’s alternatives.”
Lacalle Pou also expressed his opinion that, in terms of policies that protect domestic industries against foreign competition, including tariffs, import quotas or subsidies, South America is one of the most active regions on the planet.
“We are one of the most protectionist areas in the world,” said Lacalle Pou. “We are facing an impressive geopolitical landscape. The countries that are the most closed are the ones that are opening up the most to the world. Free-market countries today are protecting themselves. What is our region going to do?”
Uruguay promotes the idea of making bilateral agreements outside of Mercosur, a proposal that was rejected by Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, as it goes against Mercosur principles.
“Uruguay receives this summit very willingly and with rational optimism,” said Lacalle Pou. “Mercosur came here with difficulties, with all ideologies, today we have to give it a push … The vocation cannot be that this region feed the world. It is a region that exports intelligence and knowledge more and more every day. It has to enter the world on an equal footing with those who do not pay tariffs. No one can deny that.”
For her part, Uruguay’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Carolina Ache pointed out that Uruguay projects itself to the world through Mercosur: “Uruguay conceives its projection towards the rest of the world from a base that consists of a strong and solid Mercosur.”
“We have proposed that we question, ourselves, to what degree we are functioning as a platform for international insertion, that we value the needs of each country,” said Ache. “Our non-tariff zone has restrictions that impact small economies. An attempt was made to improve the free trade zone, at the same time, we promote other issues, of which the green agenda and sustainability stand out.”
The EU and Mercosur signed an agreement in June 2019, two decades after the start of the negotiations, but it did not enter into force because it requires the ratification of all member countries.
The presidency of Uruguay announced that it submitted the request to enter the Trans-Pacific Agreement within the framework of the international insertion strategy drawn up by the Lacalle administration.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which seeks to promote greater regional economic integration and cooperation among its members, was signed in 2018 and includes Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, and Chile.
Since he took office, in March 2020, Lacalle Pou has insisted that current international law enables Uruguay “to make progress in making Mercosur more flexible” and that his country needs to “open up to the world.”
In mid-July, the president announced that his government formally began negotiations with China for a FTA (Free Trade Agreement), after a “positive conclusion” of the feasibility study.
The negotiations between Montevideo and Beijing caused discomfort for some of the group’s partners, especially Argentina. In any free-trade zone, member countries cannot sign trade agreements unilaterally.
Controversies within the bloc
Luis Lacalle Pou admitted that there are tensions within Mercosur: “It would be very difficult to approach Mercosur with a head from the 90s. That should inspire us and allow us to look at what is happening at full speed … It is true that we arrived today with tensions, the lives of human beings are about resolving tensions, seeking balance.”
During the preparatory meeting for the Mercosur summit, held on December 5, Uruguay was isolated in its attempts to make the bloc more flexible in order to enter into bilateral agreements with other countries.
The foreign ministers of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay expressed concern about Uruguay’s position and asked that the rules of the bloc’s historical functioning be respected. However, the government of Lacalle Pou insisted on the idea that Mercosur’s position “failed” and calls for more agreements with other countries.
The Uruguayan Foreign Minister, Francisco Bustillo, did not skimp on criticizing the bloc, while his Argentine counterpart, Santiago Cafiero, was eager to discuss every argument made by Uruguayan representatives..
However, the height of the tension was reached when Cafiero implicitly warned Uruguay that, if it continued with its claims, there would be the danger of a “rupture” in Mercosur.
(Sputnik) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
