Isaura Daniel, special envoy
Puerto Iguazu (Argentina) – The Mercosur Permanent Court of Review (PCR) will be in service starting August 15th in Asuncion, capital of Paraguay. The decision was made yesterday (07) during the bloc summit in Puerto Iguazu, in Argentina. Presiding over the court will be four judges indicated by Mercosur member countries, and one president. It will resolve commercial disputes among partners.
According to Brazilian ambassador Luiz Felipe de Macedo Soares, ministers and diplomats also arrived at a consensus yesterday, regarding the creation of a special fund to finance discussions regarding controversies among countries in the bloc. Each one of the four members (Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil) will deposit US$ 50,000 in the fund. It will always have a balance of US$ 200,000.
By the end of the afternoon yesterday, a consensus had not been reached as to double payment of the external tariff. When a product that is not considered as having originated from one of the partner countries, because it has imported raw materials, it is taxed twice. There was a proposal on the table to eliminate the double payment, but the Paraguayans, who depend heavily on customs revenues, did not agree.
