Mujica plays down concerns over new trade barriers

The new trade barriers enforced by the local Government are “insignificant, nothing to worry about,” Uruguayan president José Mujíca said to a Montevideo newspaper. 

The new barriers on imports are “normal, because we’re dealing with such difficulties all the time. We get over them until they resurface once more. This is almost permanent,” he said.

After business and opposition leaders complained about the new Argentine legislation on imports, Mujíca said it is his job to “look into every matter and analyze trade, tourism influx and how Argentine services, logistics, ports and real estate investments develop.”

The president considers that Argentine real estate investments in Uruguay are the most important aspect of the bilateral relationship, since they reached a $2 billion worth in 2011. 

“That is a lot more important than trade, although we not always notice that,” he explained.

This month a new legislation on trade was enacted by the local Government. Importers must sign a sworn statement every time they wish to import foreign goods into the country, which many believe discourages trade.