Montevideo – Next Tuesday (20th), the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff will meet with the presidents of three other Mercosur member countries (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay). One of the main topics of the meeting will be Brazil and Argentina’s proposal to raise the Common External Tariff on a list of 100 to 200 products, to shield their markets from the international economic crisis. If approved, the raised tariffs will not be allowed to exceed the consolidated tariff of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which is 35%.
The proposal is being discussed this Monday (19th) by ministers of foreign affairs and economy from Mercosur countries. The Brazilian and Argentinean governments are very close to reaching an agreement – but they must win over Uruguay and Paraguay. The priority for the Uruguayan president, Jose Pepe Mujica, is incorporating Venezuela as a full member of the Mercosul. This would require that the bloc’s rules be changed.
The rules currently in effect set forth that a country’s bid for full adhesion must be met with approval from the Legislative Powers of all Mercosur member country. Venezuela already counts on a green light from the congresses of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. The only approval pending is the Paraguayan Congress’ – but the oppositionist majority in the Senate is contrary to the move. Mujica wants to change the laws so as to allow the entry of new members, even without the approval of Legislative Powers.
The Mercosur Summit will also be attended by presidents of associated countries: Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. The Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa, will request his country’s entry into the Mercosur. The economic bloc will also sign a free trade agreement with Palestine and the Protocol of Montevideo on the Commitment to Democracy, an update of the one currently in effect, signed in Ushuaia in 1998. The new protocol will include additional intermediation and sanction mechanisms for breaches or threats of breaching the democratic order. At the Summit, 2012 will be declared the Year of Extreme Poverty and Hunger Eradication.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
