GHY Tradelines

(MercoPress)

Foreign minister Luis Almagro announced that Uruguay will work for a free trade agreement between Mercosur and Canada during the first half of the year when Uruguay holds the chair of the South American group that also includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela.

Almagro made the announcement during the signing of a tax information exchange agreement with Uruguay with the purpose of attracting investments and facilitates the influx and outflow of capital. Read more here.
 

(Jason Margolis — The World)

President Barack Obama, like his predecessors over the past 20 years, has signed new free trade deals with Latin America. The latest involved Panama and Colombia. But his GOP challenger has said that’s not enough. During Monday night’s presidential debate, Mitt Romney said we can do better when it comes to trade with Latin America.

“As a matter of fact, Latin America’s economy is almost as big as the economy of China. We’re all focused on China. Latin America is a huge opportunity for us,” said Romney.

“My first reaction was: Well, what would the plan be?” said Kevin Gallagher, the coordinator of the Global Development Policy program at Boston University.

Gallagher said Romney’s Latin American’s economic strategy, well, there’s not much there, there.

“What puzzles a lot of us is that the United States has a trade deal with just about every significant Latin American country except for Brazil and Argentina. And every president since the Clinton Administration has unsuccessfully tried to do a deal with Brazil and Argentina. And I’m not sure that the Romney administration… they don’t outline a plan on how they would actually do that.”

There are reasons why president after president has failed to ink free trade deals with Brazil and Argentina. Read more here.
 

(Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report)

Brazil’s Foreign Trade Chamber (CAMEX) announced Sept. 4 a list of 100 goods in the steel, petrochemical, chemical, pharmaceutical and capital goods industries on which import tariffs will be raised to as much as 25%. A similar increase is planned for an additional 100 products that will be identified in October.

The tariff hikes must now be approved by the other members of the Mercosur trade bloc and could take effect in late September. They will remain in place for a year but can be extended for additional 12 month periods through Dec. 31, 2014, when the Mercosur policy allowing such higher duties will expire.

Trade Minister Fernando Pimentel said the move is designed to aid struggling domestic manufacturers and is in keeping with World Trade Organization rules. Finance Minister Guido Mantega added that his ministry will monitor the prices of the subject goods and will act quickly to lower tariffs on any for which prices increase.

The full list of goods subject to the higher tariff rates can be found here.
 

(Merco-Press)

European Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht expressed concern Monday over what he called a “growing tendency towards protectionism across Latin America” and warned Europe is preparing retaliation measures against Argentina after YPF expropriation.

“We will soon be moving forward with a response to Argentina’s action in the Repsol case,” the official said during a speech at the EU-Brazil Conference, in Brussels. The EC is already planning to file a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the next four weeks over Argentina’s alleged use of protectionist measures which harm European businesses – such as the use of non-automatic import licensing or pre-registration of imports. Read more here.
 

(Mark Kennedy — Postmedia News)

Harper and Obama stand firm on Cuba

Political leaders from the western hemisphere ended their summit Sunday seriously divided over the contentious issue of Cuba, as Canada and the United States blocked an attempt by Latin American nations to bring the communist Caribbean country into their fold.

The weekend summit ended frostily when the leaders of more than 30 countries failed to produce a final declaration about their work.

The reason for that failure was that the leaders were unable to reach a consensus on a key issue – the Latin American countries want Cuba to be invited to the next Summit of the Americas in three years, in Panama. Read more here.
 

(The Canadian Press)

Harper to attend Summit of Americas next month

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is poised to unveil a reinvigoration of his government’s muddled Americas strategy when he meets with hemispheric leaders next month.

The Canadian Press has learned that cabinet discussed a renewal of the foreign-policy directive last week. Harper is expected to discuss details of how Canada will re-engage with Latin America and the Caribbean during the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, April 14-15.

The previous Americas strategy, first signalled in 2007, had three pillars: security, prosperity and democratic governance. But the Foreign Affairs Department’s own internal evaluation last year suggested the strategy was mostly talk and little action, citing a lack of resources and poor understanding of the policy.

Since then, Foreign Affairs has consulted widely on how to rewrite the strategy, holding internal forums last fall and taking in submissions. Read more here.

(DFAIT)

The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, today concluded a two-day trade visit to Argentina, where he met with political and business leaders to advocate more trade and job-creating partnerships between Canada and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay—the countries that make up the Mercosur customs union.

“Our government is committed to creating jobs and prosperity for Canadian workers and their families,” said Minister Fast. “My visit to Argentina was an opportunity to promote the mutual benefits of expanded trade and investment ties between us.”

During his visit to Buenos Aires, Minister Fast met with Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Héctor Timerman to discuss Canada’s interest in concluding exploratory discussions toward deepened trade and investment with Mercosur, the Southern Common Market.

“Deepening and broadening Canada’s economic relationship with high-growth markets like Mercosur is a key part of our pro-trade plan for jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity,” said Minister Fast.

Mercosur is a market of nearly 250 million consumers and has a combined GDP of almost $3 trillion. It also accounts for almost three quarters of total economic activity in South America. In 2011, bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Mercosur reached more than $9.7 billion, which represents a 213% increase over the last decade.

“Canada-Mercosur exploratory trade talks are seeking to identify areas of mutual interest toward the potential negotiations of an agreement that would be mutually beneficial,” said Minister Fast.

Discussions to date have been productive. Two exploratory meetings between Canadian and Mercosur officials have already been held, with a third meeting expected to take place in Ottawa in May.

While in Argentina, Minister Fast also met with Julio de Vido, Minister of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services, and Daniel Cameron, Secretary of Energy, to discuss Canada’s continued support of Canadian companies wishing to invest in Argentina. He met with members of the Canadian business community representing a variety of sectors, including energy, information and communications technologies, construction, industrial equipment, mining operations and pharmaceuticals. Minister Fast then met with Gerardo Werthein, Chief Executive Officer of Holding Caja de Ahorro y Seguro and Vice Chair Telecom Argentina, who leads one of the most influential and diversified family-owned groups of companies in Argentina.

“Canadian companies operate in a socially responsible manner and contribute to job creation and prosperity around the world,” said Minister Fast. Currently, companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange operate more than 200 mineral projects in Argentina. At the end of 2010, the stock of Canadian direct investment in Argentina stood at $2.5 billion, an increase of 25.8% compared to 2009.

Minister Fast also promoted CANDU technology for Argentina’s planned expansion of its nuclear-generating capacity and noted that Canada has had a very successful relationship with Argentina on nuclear power going back more than 30 years.

Minister Fast attended the opening of Goldcorp’s new office in Buenos Aires. Goldcorp, one of the largest Canadian investors in the country, is opening a new site at Cerro Negro, in Santa Cruz province. There, as part of its commitment to corporate social responsibility, the company will implement several local community-development initiatives, including the construction and expansion of local schools, job training and scholarship awards. Finally, Minister Fast also met with senior executives of Techint, Argentina’s largest investor in Canada, which provides engineering, procurement and construction services in Canada and around the world.

In 2011, bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Argentina reached almost $2.9 billion, up 55.2% from 2010.
 

(MercoPress)

United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk announced that the administration of President Barack Obama is intent in reaching a free trade agreement with South America and called for a greater opening of the Brazilian economy.

“Historically since we achieved NAFTA (free trade agreement including the U.S., Canada and Mexico in 1994) many people in the U.S. have insisted we do something similar with the southern part of the continent. We’ve started with Chile and Peru and we hope, expect, others will be willing to join the initiative” said Kirk in a Sunday interview with the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo.

The U.S. trade top official said he was hopeful an agreement could be reached with the southern hemisphere in spite of the failure of negotiations for a Free Trade Association of the Americas which foundered in 2005 during a summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Read more here.
 

(The Economist)

In recent years BlackBerrys have become an essential component in the young professional’s toolkit in Buenos Aires. But if you failed to buy one before the southern-hemisphere winter, you may be out of luck. “We have trouble getting them,” says an assistant at a Claro mobile-phone store in posh Recoleta. “We haven’t had them for months,” is the answer at a Personal shop in leafy Palermo. Movistar advertises the 8520 model on its home page, but the phone is in fact sold out.

At South America’s southern tip, the missing BlackBerrys are almost ready to roll off the line. On October 3rd Brightstar, a multinational manufacturer, will begin importing kits of the phones’ parts to its factory in Tierra del Fuego, the normal base for cruise ships going to Antarctica. Some 300 workers will brave the frigid austral fog to assemble the pieces and put them in locally sourced packaging.

Making BlackBerrys south of the Magellan strait will cost $23m upfront, plus $4,500-5,000 a month per worker, some 15 times more than in Asia. But the government touts the project as a triumph of its trade policy. It will help cut foreigners’ share of Argentina’s mobile-phone market from 96% in 2009 to a forecast 20% by the end of 2011. “We have a domestic market with growing demand. The goal is to supply it with local labour and production,” said Débora Giorgi, the industry minister, when the deal was announced. Read more here.
 

(MercoPress)

Mercosur coordinators are holding meetings in Montevideo to decide on a mechanism for temporary increases of national tariffs besides those already implemented under the common external tariff for the group.

The proposal which was first presented by Argentina during the 2008 crisis has now been retaken by Brazil the Mercosur member which is most actively preparing for another global crisis with the purpose of defending its domestic market.

According to the coordinators the mechanism approval should be consented, quick and allow members to apply their tariff position according to their interests and current imports situation.

“The mechanism will be applied to the final consumer good and is really an extension of the current list of exceptions to the common external tariff”, said a Brazilian diplomat. Read more here.
 

(Wall Street Journal)

The Canadian government said Friday it was moving on exploratory talks to boost trade with the Mercosur group of South American countries, suggesting that it’s eyeing a trade pact with the bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Canada is pursuing bilateral and regional trade negotiations as it focuses on jobs and growth in a country where trade accounts for some 60% of gross domestic product. The government is currently negotiating free trade agreements with the European Union and India.

In the text of a speech in Paraguay, Trade Minister Ed Fast who is on his first visit abroad since his appointment last month, said Mercosur is an “exciting market” and that discussions with the group “have the potential to open up countless avenues to expand and deepen trade with Canada, as well as to develop strategic partnerships.” [...]

“It is in our mutual interest and in the interest of Canadian workers and companies that we continue to develop strategic partnerships between Canada and these vitally important countries,” he said. Read more here.
 

span style=”LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA”(Bloomberg)br //spanspan style=”LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: ‘Verdana’, ‘sans-serif’; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA”br /Canadian Trade Minister Peter Van Loan said the goverment has started exploratory trade discussions with South America’s Mercosur bloc, which consists of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.br /br /“While it’s in an early stage yet, we are pleased with the first steps,” Van Loan said on a conference call with reporters./span

span style=”font-size:85%;”(MercoPress)/spanbr /br /One of Brazil’s most influential lobbies, the Sao Paulo Federation of Industries, FIESP, claims that Mercosur is an economic space “too small” given the development and “growing international presence of Brazil”. “Mercosur from a trade angle and Latin America from a political angle are turning to be too small for the global interests of Brazil”, said Rubens Barbosa head of FIESP foreign trade council.br /br /Barbosa pointed out that lately Brazil and China, strong trade allies, have become decisive players in the reorganization of global production, following the 2008 downfall, and are increasingly responsible for the growing presence of developing countries in the international stage and in decision making. Read more a href=”http://en.mercopress.com/2010/06/24/mercosur-too-small-for-brazil-claims-sao-paulo-federation-of-industries”here/a.br /br /bRelated:/b a href=”http://www.slate.com/id/2257361″Say iBom Dia/i to Brazilian Businesses/a span style=”font-size:85%;”(Slate Magazine)/span

span style=”font-size:85%;”(MercoPress)br //spanbr /Since the controversial Argentine Interior Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno announced in an April 23 letter that he will examine overseas purchases to consider the competitiveness of the national market, products worth millions of dollars have been delayed at Argentina’s borders and ports.br /br /Cargoes of cheeses from France, beer from Holland, pasta from Italy, canned pineapple from Indonesia, bell peppers from Peru, and candies from Brazil are among products being delayed, according to the Chamber of Importers, which represents about 300 companies, including local units of Chile’s SACI Falabella and France’s Carrefour SA.br /br /Argentine import restrictions and an exchange rate policy that favored local industry enabled Argentina to build up a record trade surplus of 17 billion USD in 2009 on an overall trade of approximately 100 billion US dollars.br /br /However reprisals could hurt Argentina’s 56 billion of annual exports, mostly food products, equivalent to 17% of GDP. Brazil and the European Union with 45% of Argentina’s exports have warned that such kind of limits are in violation of international treaties and liable to reprisals. Read more a href=”http://en.mercopress.com/2010/05/27/argentina-s-delay-in-dispatching-imports-is-irritating-trade-partners”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(EDC)br //spanbr /EDC has a new practical, hands-on guide designed to help Canadian companies learn about doing business in the five countries in the Andean Region – Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Register to download your copy from EDC a href=”https://www.edc.ca/english/publications_brochures.htm” target=”_blank”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(CIFFA eBulletin)/spanbr /br /FIATA has been informed by its member AAACI that the Argentinean Authorities have announced the enforcement of the new regulation AFIP 2744/09 for all Import Cargo to Argentina effective 17 May, 2010 for the C.U.I.T. number resp. on 1 July, 2010 for the Customs Code number. A detailed explanatory document from FIATA is available a href=”http://www.iecanada.com/ietoday/may_10/Argentina.pdf” target=”_blank”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada)/spanbr /br /Colombia and Peru are vital markets for Canadian livestock, grain, and pulse producers and the Government of Canada is working hard to quickly pass and implement free trade agreements with both countries. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz led a Canadian delegation to Colombia and Peru to advance quick implementation of these important free trade agreements.br /br /Meetings between Canada and Colombia resulted in a clear path that will enable Colombia to fully reopen the Colombian market to Canadian beef and livestock.br /br /“Canada’s Conservative Government is working hard to create opportunities for Canadians producers around the world and we are building a strong relationship between Canada and Colombia as we move forward with our free trade agreement,” said Minister Ritz. “I am confident that we can meet and exceed Colombia’s high quality and safety standards to reopen that market to our beef and livestock this summer.br /br /“This breakthrough agreement gives us a clear direction to once again scientifically prove that Canadian beef and livestock are safe. We continue to deliver the same stringent sanitary and health standards whether we are producing food for Canadian grocery stores or markets around the world.”br /br /In addition to the Andean Community’s ongoing study of Canadian beef and livestock sanitary and phytosanitary systems, it was agreed that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will provide Colombia with detailed analysis of the two most recent cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, complete a technical questionnaire requested by Colombia, and provide updated information about Canada’s livestock and food safety systems and sanitary procedures. Colombia will deliver a final decision within 15 days of receiving the requested information from CFIA. If all requirements are satisfactorily met by Canada, Colombia will fully reopen its market to Canadian beef and livestock. Read more a href=”http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Canada-Promotes-Vital-Free-iw-15328917.html”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Export Development Canada – Peter G. Hall)/spanbr /br /When it comes to Canadian exports, the Andean region – Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela – is not likely top-of-mind. But Canadian exporters and investors have been very active in the region in recent years, and there is much potential for growth well into the future.br /br /Last year, Canada exported $2.1 billion worth of goods to the region. What is more, 2008 growth was about double Canada’s average, at an impressive 19%. This was no flash in the pan, either – growth has maintained a solid, double-digit pace in each of the last four years. Not only that, but over the same period, Canada also saw consistently strong growth in each of the five markets.br /br /Agri-food exports dominate all other industry categories, at about 40% of total regional shipments, yet growth is below the regional average. Machinery and equipment exports together account for a sizable 16% of Canadian exports to the region, and as a group, grew at a 22% pace over the past four years. Other top exports are paper products, minerals and refined petroleum products.br /br /Canada’s activity in the region is not confined to exporting. Canadian firms have undertaken direct investments in the region of over $4.4 billion, over half of which is in Peru. Colombia makes up an additional $1 billion, a tally that is growing by 28% annually. Venezuelan holdings are at $850 million, and rising 15.5% annually. Canada is also importing from the region. Growth in the past three years has been well below export growth, but with inbound shipments of $4.4 billion, is about 2.5 times as large. Crude and refined petroleum account for one third of imports, while precious metals make up an additional 27%. Imports of fruits, nuts and coal are also significant. Read more a href=”http://www.edc.ca/english/docs/ereports/commentary/publications_16428.htm”here/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Embassy – Michelle Collins)/spanbr /br /Twelve months ago, as Prime Minister Stephen Harper embarked on a tour of Latin America to raise Canada’s profile in the region and demonstrate that his foreign policy would be geared toward these hemispheric neighbours, many took the trip as a sign that he was indeed serious about the Americas.br /br /Yet one year later, there are few updates from the government about what is involved in this pillar of its foreign policy, the mainstream media say there’s no story to report, and most Canadians have nary a notion that their government ever committed itself to an “Americas Strategy.”br /br /On his six-day trip through Colombia, Chile, Barbados and Haiti, Mr. Harper visited aid projects built with Canadian funds, met with Canadian investors, and delivered speeches to economists and business crowds, all with parliamentary reporters in tow.br /br /While in Chile, Mr. Harper delivered a speech declaring Canada a country of the Americas and said that expanding political and economic engagement in the Americas would be a major foreign policy goal for his government. “Re-engagement in our hemisphere is a critical international priority for our government. Canada is committed to playing a bigger role in the Americas and to doing so for the long term,” Mr. Harper said.br /br /Mr. Harper and his officials, such as former foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier, repeatedly declared that the policy is built on “three key objectives” of prosperity, security and governance.br /br /Since that time, the government has made a handful of funding announcements for increased aid projects in Latin America and moved ahead on free trade agreements with Peru and Colombia. Most recently, Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson announced that the Department of International Trade was opening four new trade offices in the region; two in Mexico and two in Brazil.br /br /Beyond developments in the area of trade, however, little else about the strategy has been released publicly.br /br /Although a Memorandum to Cabinet on the Americas Strategy was delivered in the last two months, ministers and officials at the Foreign Affairs Department refuse to talk about what’s in it.br /br /When Mr. Harper’s government began ramping up the rhetoric about re-engaging the Americas, Latin American diplomats based in Ottawa were encouraged that this would be their chance to finally reap more of the benefits of globalization and tap into Canada’s economic prowess.br /br /But more than a year later, those same diplomats are left with more questions than answers about what Mr. Harper’s plans really are and are expressing concern that, like other prime ministers before him, Mr. Harper’s commitment to the Americas has tumbled on his list of foreign policy priorities.br /br /Meanwhile, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Helena Guergis has travelled to the area several times over the last few months, but only her announcements about domestic sports programs get reported in the media.br /br /Additionally, aside from a media advisory, the government says little about the trips and Ms. Guergis herself is difficult to track down. Embassy made several requests to interview the minister about her trip to Belize and Guatemala this past week, but to no avail.br /br /Indeed, Maclean’s political affairs columnist Paul Wells believes that the fact Ms. Guergis is the one being sent on these trips is evidence that the Americas are no longer a genuine priority. “I do get the impression this was an interesting idea, but the idea of an American Canada, understood in the Americas, it’s not automatic, it’s not driven by market forces, not driven by the attention space of ordinary Canadians, and would have to be artificial and built,” Mr. Wells said.br /br /Mr. Wells said “serious distractions” to the west, east and the north – from China to Europe and Russia – are more interesting and geographically closer to Canada. Plus, he notes, Canada’s top foreign policy challenge remains Afghanistan, and the Latin American countries have not made any significant troop contributions to the conflict. “It’s just one example of how far away we are from the idea of this having a concrete application to the rest of the foreign policy universe,” Mr. Wells said.br /br /Toronto Star reporter Allan Woods said that given the way Mr. Harper kicked off this foreign policy strategy, one might expect to have heard more about it by now. He said Mr. Harper’s trip last year was really the first Conservative-led foreign policy initiative since the party rose to power in early 2006, and the government itself billed it as the grandest one up to that point.br /br /Mr. Woods said that at the time, he did plan to follow the issue over the next several months, but that since then, he hasn’t seen all that much happen. “A couple of trips does not a foreign policy make, and a couple of free trade agreements does not a foreign policy make,” Mr. Woods said. “It’s unfortunate because I’ve been on many trips with Harper, and that one was by far the most interesting; it was something of their own making and they just didn’t seem to follow up on it. The onus was on them to explain this.”br /br /CTV reporter Robert Fife points out that if this were a focus, Mr. Harper would be talking about it. He said that if the Conservatives want to promote the Americas, they are going to have to convince people that free trade with these countries is a good thing. “If the prime minister wants to shine a light on it, he usually gets pretty good coverage on any issue he talks about,” Mr. Fife said. “If this issue is such a central plank in the Conservative foreign policy, then it should speak for itself; if you’re not going down there, then it can’t be much of a priority.” a href=”http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=storyamp;full_path=/2008/july/16/americas_strategy/”Read the complete article/a.

span style=”font-size:85%;”(Marcela Sanchez — Washington Post)/spanbr /br /It has been a frustrating start of the century for those promoting economic integration of the Americas. The hemisphere seems more ideologically divided than at any time since the Cold War, putting off any hopes of reviving the idea of a Free Trade Area of the Americas, snuffed out two and half years ago in Argentina when regional leaders spent more time emphasizing their differences than anything they had in common.br /br /Those who see a free trade agreement as a way to promote growth, reduce disparity and increase competitiveness are asking themselves what to do next. More specifically, they wonder what can be achieved at the Summit of the Americas to be held in early 2009, when a new U.S. president is expected to attend.br /br /It may be time to try Plan B. Nancy Lee, former deputy assistant secretary for the Western Hemisphere at the Treasury Department, contends that rather than striving for an all-encompassing trade agreement, the region should get more of its fundamentals in order and pursue a narrower goal. In a chapter for the forthcoming book “The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President,” to be published by the Washington-based Center for Global Development, Lee proposes a regional agreement to improve the hemisphere’s investment climate.br /br /Such an agreement would establish standards for doing business in the Americas, a region where many countries are far behind the average global standard. It would aim, for instance, to reduce burdens on private entrepreneurs by simplifying processes to start up a business, pay taxes, clear customs and access credit.br /br /A hemisphere-wide agreement, Lee argues, both would increase investment and boost growth. It would spread economic benefits to areas and populations so far neglected, especially by permitting “small businesses trapped in the informal sector (to) shift to the more productive formal sector.” a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062603005.html?hpid=news-col-blog”Read the complete article/a.