Pimentel over import controls: 'Argentina is in trouble and we must help in a mature way'

The Brazilian government is willing to debate and solve the problems generated by the recent import controls settled by Argentina. “We’ll help in a mature way,” Brazil’s Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Fernando Pimentel stated. Rousseff’s official will discuss with Argentina this issue “within the next weeks.”

“The Brazilian businessmen are not keen on this measure,” the minister said during a press conference in which he indicated that “it seems like Argentina is having some problems and we must try to help them solve them in a mature way.”

According to Pimentel, many of the private sector’s claims are due to the Advanced Sworn Statement on Imports (DJAI) applied by the Argentine government.

The minister stated that this measure has created an “additional difficulty” in commerce which will be discussed in Buenos Aires “within the next weeks.”

Brazil’s National Industry Confederation (CNI) reported that the exports to Argentina have dropped 22 percent in the first two months of the year.

These figures had been presented by representatives of the CNI in a meeting with Argentine authorities held on Wednesday in Buenos Aires, but according to the Economy Minister Hernán Lorenzino the government “is not aware of this.”

“What we do know is that, according to the last official data released on January, Brazil bought us 24.8 percent less and we’ve imported from Brazil 10 percent more than in the same month in 2011,” Lorenzino continued.

Pimentel insisted that, despite this “particular problems,” the trade relations between Brazil and Argentina “are very good” and assured that “problems are normal in cases of intense volume of trade,” like the one between both countries.