It is not our area, it is up to the authorities of both governments to carry out the negotiations. We support, stimulate, promote meetings with China.
We are going with very clear ideas of being able to continue strengthening ties with our peers there, with our chambers of commerce and in turn that will generate more synergy and more contact so that relationships are strengthened so that our Uruguayan companies through the unions can approach and offer your products.
-Are there issues that are ideological that “get” into the negotiation? Or is it the “fear” that the negotiation is too asymmetrical?
-What I worry about is developing more and better. trade. That’s what interests me. I believe that saying that the possibilities of negotiating are bad generates risks. I think that like everything in life it has some ups and downs or has some risks, but what you have to look at is the final result. TO Uruguay, market with China It has always given him good results.
-Could Uruguay face it alone, without its partners in the region?
-I think it is not a question of whether Uruguay can or can’t, I wouldn’t frame it in that topic. Yeah Uruguay It has partners and that allows us to strengthen ourselves, negotiate together and expand our markets and our possibilities of entering our products and at the same time offering more products as a whole, welcome.
I do believe in a Free Trade Agreement, I also believe in an adhesion or union treaty, a union treaty such as the Mercosur. I think that evidently Mercosur has been around for a good number of years and we understand that it is time to start doing different things so that different things happen.
So, I believe that what our government has proposed, the possibility that Uruguay open and negotiate with other markets, you do not necessarily have to leave the Mercosur. Not necessarily saying it’s this or that, I think we have to find a way for them to say, “Look, gentlemen, I need to look for this because of my conditions,” whatever it may be and let’s work, but I don’t think we have to leave the Mercosur, nor do I believe that we do not have to negotiate with China or with any other country.
I want to negotiate in the best way so that my products enter all markets in a more competitive way and in better conditions than what I can have today, which are not bad, but I want to have better ones.
The impact of the exchange rate difference with Argentina
– The exchange gap with Argentina is still present and from time to time it even widens. The permanent impact on consumption appears there. Are actions still lacking in this regard?
-There can always be one more action, what we have to see is what actions we can do that really have an impact. The difference is so big, so, so, so big, that all the measures we are taking today are palliative measures. We are aware of that. The important thing is to take them and the important thing is to work on the issue. I don’t know so far and I haven’t seen a single solution anywhere.
Different options have been handled and explored and some with better results than others, others without results. We are not extremists. He zero kilo We understand that it does not help, we believe that it harms and that there is no solution there. Yes, we are inclined to greater controls and we are aware that they are done and sometimes resources are finite. The situation is so great that it is impossible to find a single solution.
It is also true that we ourselves have something to do. If I complain about the situation in Argentina, The first thing I have to do is not go to Argentina to buy. I’m not saying to walk, I’m saying to shop.
Because that is the truth, everyone says “there is a lack of controls.” Do what you have to do first. So if we are affected and it impacts us, don’t go. As simple as that. I believe that each one has a responsibility and each one plays an important role, according to their measures.
So, the measures that are taken are those that can be taken and those that arise at the moment. Without a doubt there will be other measures, without a doubt it will be possible. There are several paths and we all think differently. What I believe is that the measures together are providing solutions.
There is no single solution, what is happening in the area is not the same. coast, which is extremely affected. Today it is no longer just the coastal area, which is the most affected of all, but the entire country is being affected.
We have divided the country into five zones and we can say that the growth we have had, except in some zone which is the center of the country where there is growth very slight, in the other areas, except the coast, it has remained the same, there has been practically no growth. And where there was a significant drop in commercial activity is in the area of the border departments, Salto, Paysandú and Rio Negro.
Elections in the neighboring country
-The electoral definition is coming up on Sunday in Argentina. Are there prospects for this situation to have a correction? What scenario do you imagine in an always turbulent Argentina?
-We are very respectful of the decisions of the sovereign, who are the people of each country, first of all. Secondly, we are expectant. Let’s wait, let’s see the result. And what we want from the heart is that the Argentina can solve the problems you have.
Today it has a poverty rate that I believe is around 40% poverty. They are with a inflation which is in three digits. And they are problems that also affect us.
The only thing I wish is that on Sunday the people elect whoever they believe will lead the next years of the government. Once we have knowledge of the results of the elections, We will begin what we have to do: work with the new authorities, introduce ourselves and tell our peers “gentlemen, here we are” and in whatever way we can, as a Chamber in this case, support.
We will be at your disposal and we will be working to further strengthen the ties between the Argentina. I just came from Rio, where we were with the Confederation of Chambers of Mercosur, we were with the Argentine Chamber of Commerce, with which we have a long and great friendship.
-The first challenge is going to be the summer season…
-Everything indicates that it could be a difficult season, we have to see the result. Now, from what I read in the press the other day, many Argentines were bringing forward the decision to rent, because they anticipate that there will be a price increase. So I think, I don’t have all the information yet, but it shouldn’t be very different from last year’s season.
Source: Ambito
