The Uruguayan government will submit on December 1 its request to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as informed this week by President Luis Lacalle Pou during a meeting at the Executive Tower with representatives of all political parties with parliament. representation.
President Lacalle Pou is looking to give a new push to his open tourism agenda, which also includes negotiations with China for a Free Trade Agreement and with Turkey.
The agreement with China, in particular, caused resistance from Argentine President Alberto Fernández, while the president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has not yet expressed a concrete position on the matter.
Uruguay is preparing for the next Mercosur meeting on December 5 and 6, which will take place in Montevideo.
WHAT IS URUGUAY LOOKING FOR?
Through a possible entry into the Trans-Pacific Agreement, Uruguay would seek preferential conditions for access to markets such as Japan, where today Uruguayan beef enters at average tariffs of over 30%.
In this agreement, in which Mexico, Peru and Chile already participate for Latin America, Uruguay would also position itself alongside direct competitors in agricultural products such as Australia and New Zealand.
“The most important thing is that Uruguay continues to define an opening agenda for Mercosur that has been paralyzed for many years,” says Pablo Iturralde, president of the National Party led by Lacalle Pou.
Asked how it might affect the relationship with other Mercosur countries, the leader said the government understands that Uruguay “is qualified” to participate in extra-bloc agreements.
However, this is not Argentina’s position. Alberto Fernandez’s government has shown on more than one occasion that, from its point of view, these types of initiatives undermine the bloc’s fundamental foundations.
Colorado Party MP Ope Pasquet says his collectivity, a member of the officials, understands that it is appropriate to enter into the agreement, even though it was decided that Uruguay would wait for the assumption of Lula da Silva in Brazil for it. talk about this topic in a formal way.
Beyond this position, the definition given by Lacalle Pou is that the ascension will be presented on December 1st.
With information from Bloomberg Línea
