Brazil and Argentina sour Uruguay plans with Mercosur tariff cuts

The Brazilian government announced a broad and unilateral 10-percent cut on import levies under the Common External Tariff (TEC) of Mercosur, the trade alliance which also includes Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The reduction will cover 84 percent of imported products into Brazil under the TEC and advance a deal between the two countries celebrated in October.

The move marks enhanced cooperation between Presidents Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and Alberto Fernández of Argentina — a duo that not long ago threw epithets at each other such as “fascist” or “thief.”

The matter still depends on consensus between other Mercosur members — and it will be a bitter pill to swallow for Uruguay, which has opposed the Brasília-Buenos Aires arrangement in favor of an even more liberal stance.

According to Roberto Fendt, the Brazilian Economy Ministry’s Foreign Affairs Secretary, Paraguay agreed to the deal between Foreign Ministers Carlos França and Santiago Cafiero a month ago. Still, conversations stalled with Montevideo. The Brazilian Economy and Foreign Affairs Ministries reported that the cut is a “temporary” measure...