The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, said on Monday, the 30th, that Brazil should work to strengthen Mercosur, in order to improve the negotiating capacity of the region. He advocated the need for other countries to be integrated into the bloc, such as Bolivia, and suggested that the group move toward a free trade area among its members.
Haddad said, during a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Federation of São Paulo State Industries (Fiesp).
He added that even the Brazilian economy, which is large compared to its counterparts in Latin America, has become “relative” in negotiations with countries with economies such as China and the United States.
For the minister, the trade agreement with China negotiated by Uruguay’s president, Luis Lacalle Poe, represents “the best of both worlds” for the country, which wants to stay in Mercosur and negotiate a free trade agreement abroad.
“In my opinion, it is difficult to reconcile,” Haddad said, adding that countries negotiating in a bloc – such as members of the European Union – do not appear “repentant”.
Earlier, the minister said projects such as the one aimed at transporting shale gas from Argentina’s Vaca Muerta region to Brazil should be discussed “without dogmatism”.
Last week, the President of the Republic, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, cited the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) when talking about possible alternatives to financing the project, but Haddad said on Monday that the construction of the gas pipeline could not need public funds.
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