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Report of the CAN-Argentina
meeting to launch the negotiations
for a Tariff Preferences Agreement
Buenos Aires, October 29, 1999.
The Delegations of Argentina and
of the Andean Community countries
met in Buenos Aires on October 28
and 29 to launch the negotiations
for a Partial Scope Economic
Complementarity Fixed Tariff
Preferences Agreement between
Argentina and the Andean Community.
This instrument will replace the
bilateral agreements that are in
effect and will help to lay the
groundwork for the negotiation of
the Free Trade Agreement between
Mercosur and CAN, as provided for
in the Framework Agreement signed
on April 16, 1998 in Buenos Aires.
The
Argentine Delegation was
coordinated by the National
Director for American Economic
Integration of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, International
Trade and Worship, Ambassador
Rodolfo Rodríguez. The Andean
Community Delegation, for its part,
operated under the coordination of
the National Director for
Integration and International
Trade Negotiations of the Peruvian
Ministry of Industry, Tourism,
Integration and International
Trade Negotiations, Doctor Eduardo
Brandes Salazar.
The
two Delegations agreed to take as
the starting point for their talks
the status achieved in the
Mercosur-CAN negotiations in March
of this year, including the
products agreed upon and those
still pending at that time.
General criteria were also agreed
upon for negotiating the coverage
of the agreement, its life, and
the use of ALADI provisions as its
basis.
The
general criterion adopted for the
negotiation is the
multilateralizing of preferences,
with such exceptions as prove to
be necessary, while maintaining
the conditions for access by the
products belonging to the
historical inheritance. Provision
has also been made for negotiating
new products.
The
situation of Ecuador, as a
relatively less economically
developed country, will be
addressed by granting differential
preferences for its special list
of requested products.
During the course of the meeting,
the Argentine Delegation presented
a draft agreement, which contains
the regulatory aspects, for the
CAN's study and the product
universe it will cover was
considered tentatively.
The
two Delegations agreed to exchange
consolidated product lists in
order to reach a consensus on the
universe to be negotiated on
November 22 of this year.
Regarding the future free trade
agreement between Mercosur and
CAN, both Delegations underscored
their interest and the high
priority they attribute to those
negotiations in accordance with
the Framework Agreement signed on
April 16, 1998.
The
two Delegations expressed their
satisfaction at the start of
negotiations and agreed to hold
their next meeting on December 15
to 17 in Lima, with a subsequent
meeting being envisaged for Buenos
Aires on January 26 to 28, 2000.
Buenos Aires, October 29, 1999
Eduardo Brandes
Minister of Industry, Tourism,
Integration and International
Trade Negotiations.
Rodolfo Rodríguez
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
International Trade and Worship
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