Mercosur will sign an agreement with Cuba to foment the trade

CÓRDOBA.- He comes or not the president from Cuba, Fidel Castro, to the summit of Mercosur, the Caribbean country will sign the day after tomorrow in this city with the block an agreement that will enlarge the quantity from products free of tariffs to the current import of the 1300 at 2700, what represents a room of the total trade.

As long as, the boss of the Venezuelan State, Hugo Chávez, wants to bring the petrodiplomacia to Mercosur: their government offered yesterday, in a preparatory meeting, to contribute to the Fund of Structural Convergence of Mercosur (Focem), with which credits will be given to the development, mainly, of Uruguay and Paraguay, the smallest partners, disconformes with the block.

"The integration extends from Tierra del Fuego to Caribbean", the secretary of Economic International Relationships, Alfredo declared Chiaradia, joking because the city of Córdoba received yesterday to the technical delegations of the countries with 24 not very winter grades.

United States that for their seizure of almost half century against Cuba has pressed European investors in the island, it has not objected the agreement with Mercosur, according to Chiaradia. "We are not very presionables. To me nobody told me anything. Who will he/she complain for the agreement if it is so that Argentina exports more? It is an agreement kosher", the secretary smiled, when making the comparison with the "capable" foods for the Jewish liturgy.

Pragmatism

"United States are as pragmatic as us", the undersecretary of Integration Economic American, Eduardo responded Sigal, when he was asked by the attitude of Washington toward the agreement with Cuba. "Not we receive any sign [of United States]", the vice-chancellor from Paraguay, Rubén declared Ramírez.

Argentina exported Cuba last year for US $ 92 millions and it cared for less than 10 millions. This figure of purchases was reached because both countries created a trusteeship to bring Cuban medications. Among the products that you/they will enter in the island without tariff with the treaty or with a reduced rate they figure machines and electric apparatuses, boilers, plastics and their factories, optics teams and it photographs, of medicine and surgical.

As for the arrival of Cuban goods to Argentina, Chiaradia assured that, "in general, the trade is of a single road", that is to say, toward the Caribbean country, and it discarded that they will disencumber the cigars and the rum, since they are articles protected with high tariffs. A news that can disappoint some sybarites, but it will please to the small local producers of liquors and cigarettes.

"Venezuela has a very strong interest in contributing", Chiaradia highlighted with relationship to the funds that, like in European Union, they will try to compensate asymmetries among the partners. Focem already bill with the parliamentary approval of Uruguay and Paraguay and he/she will go into effect when the congresses of Brazil and Argentina ratify it.

In the third year of life it will have US $ 100 millions to lend. Brazil will put 70 percent of the resources; Argentina, 27 percent; Uruguay, 2 percent, and Paraguay, one percent, according to the gross internal (PBI) product of each one.

Venezuela has two thirds of Argentinean PBI. In turn, 48% of the funds will be for Paraguay; 32%, for Uruguay; 10%, for Argentina, and another point, for Brazil. But Venezuela is not still full member of Mercosur. Although their protocol of adhesion was signed last month in Caracas, they should still ratify it the parliaments of the five countries in question.