“No one can condemn others as suppliers of industrializing raw materials”

President Alberto Fernandez He urged the Mercosur summit to “integrate into the world not only as suppliers of raw materials but also as exporters of finished goods”.

“I am talking about being part of the global world with the strength of the emerging economies, not with the weakness of the primary ones. No one can condemn being suppliers of raw material that others industrialize and then sell. At high prices to us”, he warned in his speech in Puerto Iguazú, before the other leaders of the camp.

Opening the summit of heads of state in the missionary city, Fernández stressed that Mercosur’s destiny “is to be part of the global world with the strength of emerging economies, not with weakness.” are prioritized”.

No one can blame others for becoming suppliers of industrializing raw material and then selling us at higher prices.Alberto Fernandez

In a speech focused on recovering the differences that Uruguay has already expressed – in isolation – regarding the negotiations for a free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), the Argentine president said that the country wants to move forward with the negotiations and that his government is not in an “isolated” position.

“No one can condemn others as suppliers of industrialized raw material, and then sell at a higher price. A view that does not realize the dimension of what I am saying here may lead some to think that we will not do it this way. Achieve the level of free trade that some partners want,” he said, citing the position of the Louis Lacall Bowe government. pointed out.

In this sense, he said, Argentina’s position is “to bet on industrial development and how to approach the free trade announced by the Middle World”.

“I don’t stand in the isolated space that some people want to see me stand in. I want to add value to what we produce because that way we can be the protagonists of the future. Otherwise, we will continue to perpetuate the huge inequality that pushes us today. The people,” he added.

Regarding external negotiations and the EU, he recalled that the agreement signed in mid-2019 had been called into question “on more than one occasion”.

“We have a critical view of what was agreed at the time. It was the result of a very unequal effort between the parties. Thus, Mercosur was the group that gave the most, with the least development. The agreement. Making new demands on environmental matters (…) a record of the three dimensions of sustainability “Nonetheless, it presents a partial vision of sustainable development centered on the environment,” he clarified.

Even so, the national leader reiterated that Argentina considers the agreement to represent an opportunity: “We want the current negotiations to produce balanced results for all parties.”

He also pointed out that the difficulties to move forward were “not the result of a lack of consensus or willingness to work on the part of the Mercosur member states”, but rather “the protectionist attitude of particularly disreputable countries”. Peers” European in the case of food sector.

Fernández used his speech to congratulate his Paraguayan counterpart, Mario Abdo Benitez, and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is living in the last days of his presidency: “I don’t want to. I don’t hide the great affection I have for him, or even the deep admiration I have for him. He is the victim of persecution and injustice, but Brazil People know how to repair such damage by giving him leadership.

Fernandez arrived in Puerto Iguazú, Mission Province, Tuesday morning to participate in the 62nd Plenary Session of the Summit of the Heads of Mercosur and Associated States.

Before the president’s words, Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero took on the Argentine presidency of the camp, specifically highlighting intra-merit trade.

Meanwhile, Sergio Massa, Minister of Economy and presidential candidate of the Fatherland Union (UxP), will accompany the President in the plenary session, participating in a meeting of officials from the region’s economic sector.

This Monday, ahead of the summit, the foreign ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay will meet face-to-face to discuss asymmetries in the bloc and negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs), as has happened in past Mercosur meetings; Especially with the EU.