On January 13, the Secretary of International Economic Relations Jorge Neme received the Brazilian Ambassador in Buenos Aires, Reinaldo José de Almeida Salgado, with whom he held a meeting in which issues on the bilateral agenda and MERCOSUR were discussed.
They agreed on the relevance that MERCOSUR has for both countries and the need to join forces to consolidate and deepen the integration process in a complex regional and international context, as a result of the health crisis caused by COVID-19, which impacted the economies of our countries. countries.
Both officials discussed the 30th anniversary of MERCOSUR on March 26. They highlighted that the entire path traveled has been very fruitful for the MERCOSUR States Parties in the commercial, political, social and cooperation areas, among others. In this context, they discussed issues on the regional agenda and the strengthening of the bloc in the current year 2021, during the Pro Tempore presidencies of the bloc that Argentina and Brazil will lead in the first and second half of the year, respectively.
On the other hand, when reviewing the issues on the bilateral agenda, they discussed issues related to market access, non-automatic licenses and phytosanitary issues. Ambassador Almeida Salgado explained the reasons for the recent adoption of the measure to apply a tariff of 0% to the import of wheat for a quota of 750,000 tons, noting that it is intended to comply with the commitments assumed by Brazil in the multilateral framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and that is framed in MERCOSUR regulations.
On the same issue, the Argentine ambassador in Brasilia, Daniel Scioli met with the ambassador Pedro Miguel da Costa e Silva, Secretary of Bilateral and International Relations of America of Itamaraty, who explained his reasons for the decision. Argentina will continue to be Brazil’s main wheat supplier, supplying around 80% of Brazilian cereal imports. Scioli also contacted the authorities of Abitrigo, the entity that brings together the milling industry in Brazil, who spoke in the same direction.
They also valued the importance of maintaining a fluid dialogue between the authorities of both countries in the various areas of Government, to favor the generation of synergies that allow to mitigate the negative effects that the health crisis has generated in the economy of the region.
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