Political tension in Mercosur: Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay threaten legal action against Uruguay

Mercosur entered a new institutional crisis due to the political decision of Louis Lacal Poe Its unilateral strategy is to close free trade agreements outside the regional bloc that Uruguay integrates with Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

A few months ago, Montevideo announced negotiations with China to close a bilateral agreement outside of Mercosur. Now it is known that he is trying to join the Trans-Pacific Treaty led by New Zealand and Australia.

Faced with this public information, the governments of Alberto Fernández, Jair Bolsonaro and Mario Benítez instituted a diplomatic strategy unprecedented in Mercosur’s thirty-year history. Through a generic tweet, at the same time (9:00 a.m. in Argentina) They warned Uruguay that they would act with maximum legal rigor to avoid violating the framework norms of the regional bloc.

“Taking into account the actions of the Government of Uruguay with the aim of individual negotiation of trade agreements with a tariff dimension and the possible presentation of the request of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay to adhere to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement. Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the national integrators of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay before the Mercosur Common Market Group of Uruguay Please inform. All three countries have the right to take any action necessary to protect their interests in the legal and commercial fields.

The reaction of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay was a direct response to a trip by Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo to Australia and New Zealand to offer his country’s adherence to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Bustillo will do full diplomatic identification in Auckland (New Zealand) tomorrow. Because a formal agreement signed by all its members is deposited there.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is made up of Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, representing a market of 13 percent of global GDP and more than 500 million people.

Lacal Bov believes that Mercosur is a trade area for Uruguay and has a roadmap aimed at achieving a series of free trade agreements. It has already started down that path with China, and now it’s continuing with the Trans-Pacific Treaty. Although strict legal limitations are imposed by the existing rules of the regional forum.

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