The Argentine Foreign Minister and his MERCOSUR counterparts participated today in the Meeting of the Common Market Council held in Asunción to mark the end of Paraguay's Pro Tempore Presidency
In the context of the 52nd Summit of Heads of State of MERCOSUR Member and Associate States taking place in Paraguay on 17-18 June, Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie participated today in a meeting with his counterparts of the regional bloc.
During the Meeting of the Common Market Council, made up by the Foreign Ministers and Economy Ministers of the MERCOSUR Member States, Faurie stated that MERCOSUR "has a purpose when it contributes to improving people's living conditions," for which it "must necessarily deliver concrete results regarding both its domestic agenda and especially the foreign relations agenda pursued by the four countries since 2016."
The Argentine Foreign Minister stressed that "MERCOSUR has achieved great progress in trade matters" but "market access is not only about charging zero tariffs and complying with rules of origin", as "it also involves complying with technical standards." "It is in that regard in that we still have to make further progress," he stated.
During the meeting, Faurie listed the five core issues that Argentina considers should be addressed: reviewing the common external tariff; market access, especially regarding non-tariff barriers; adopting and implementing previously approved rules; modernizing the bloc and pursuing more dynamic and proactive international insertion.
Faurie underscored the importance for the bloc of initiatives and negotiations in progress at the level of MERCOSUR's foreign ties and stressed that "we need to create opportunities for and to enhance the competitiveness of our private sector regarding trade in goods and services, attract investment in the region and boost the insertion of our companies into global value chains."
"Argentina sees trade agreements that secure our foreign insertion as a priority" and "MERCOSUR's foreign ties must contribute to achieving such goal," the Argentine Foreign Minister stated. "Entering into new negotiations is not enough. We must be able to make decisions and changes that help us deliver concrete results for the benefit of our economies, by obtaining greater market access for our products, attracting foreign investment, adopting technology that enhances our competitiveness and achieving greater insertion into global production chains," he added.
"We need to be able to reach consensus with the European Union to conclude the MERCOSUR-EU Bi-regional Partnership Agreement, which will mark a historic milestone for the two blocs," stated the Argentine Foreign Minister, adding that "we are making progress in the negotiations with EFTA, Canada and Korea, which offer excellent prospects."
"While progress has been made, we still owe our peoples greater and better integration," Faurie stated at the Meeting of the Common Market Council, which today in Asunción brought together the Ministers of the MERCOSUR countries and on Monday 18 will bring together the Heads of State of the MERCOSUR countries.
Press Release No. 252/18
