'Reality of bilateral trade doesn't warrant Brazil's complaints,' Giorgi

Industry Minister Débora Giorgi spoke about the balance of trade and assured that “the trade reality between Argentina and Brazil does warrant Pimentel's complaints,” and thusly rejected her Brazilian counterpart's comments, in which he referred to Argentina as "a frequent problem."

Giorgi replied to her Brazilian counterpart, Fernando Pimentel, who said "Argentina represents a permanent problem." The government official explained that Argentina represented 19.5 percent of Brazil’s trade surplus in 2011 and that the deficit with the neighbour country stood at US$5.8 billion and that Argentina’s purchases to Brazil increased 23 percent in 2011 in comparison to the previous year

“In our trade relationship with Brazil, both bilateral and of the Mercosur bloc, we always follow regional agreements’ rules and the World Trade Organization’s rules,” Giorgi insisted. “Argentina seeks to rebalance the trade and the regional industrialization, requiring the access to the Brazilian market, and requesting the elimination of multiple barriers for the access of our products in the neighbouring country, as we defend our protection from unloyal competition inherent to production, export and investment incentives.”

The Industry Minister stated that “of the US$ 30 billion trade surplus Brazil has with the world, Argentina represents 19.5 percent; Brazilian imports have grown 23 percent in 2011, reaching US$ 22,7 billion and over 95 percent of them are manufactures.”

Giorgi is in Mar del Plata, alongside acting President Amado Boudou, where they took part in the city’s industrial exposition. She reiterated that “we are looking for the leveling of an industrialization process that had been left behind because before 2003 there was no model, as the one led by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, that used the industry as the key to social inclusion.”