Argentina, Brazil move to solve ongoing trade disputes

The presidents of Brazil and Argentina on Wednesday established a mechanism to solve ongoing trade disputes between the two countries.

Under the mechanism, the commercial ministers of the two countries will meet every 45 days to address trade conflicts caused by the imposition of non-automatic import licensing by both nations.

Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner of Argentina were also to try to establish a more expeditious system for perishable and seasonal products and a transparent mechanism for non-automatic licensing to avoid trade disruptions.

Lula said after a meeting with Kirchner that his country wants a "strong, prosperous and competitive" Argentina because that is in line with Brazil's interests.

"Our response to the crisis should be more trade and investment, more businesses and productive integration," he said.

Protectionism was not a solution because it merely created distortions that could be hard to reverse, the Brazilian president said.

Kirchner called for a more balanced trade relationship with Brazil.

"The need to deepen the relationship with Brazil is not momentary. We must address our trade differences with calmness and rationality," Kirchner said.

The Argentina-Brazil trade conflict developed in late 2008 when Argentina began to require non-automatic licensing for a variety of Brazilian products, affecting 15 percent of the goods coming from their neighbor.

In response, Brazil implemented a series of non-automatic licensing on Argentine perishable goods and certain industrial products.

Source:Xinhua