Rousseff to talk trade with Argentine president
April 25, 2013, 9:19 am

President Rousseff says that a recent decision by Vale mining  will be discussed when she travels to Argentina [Getty Images]

Rousseff assured: “We have a broad agenda with Argentina. We always discuss our relations in all areas (…) and will discuss them this time as well.”

The Brazilian leader stressed that all affairs will be addressed including the recent decision of the Vale mining company to scale back Argentinian operations.

Vale has recently suspended a $5 billion potassium production project in Mendoza.

The Brazilian mining giant said it had to suspend the project due to rising costs, which went from an estimated $6 billion  in 2009 to $12 billion this year.

The meeting was originally scheduled for March, but was postponed following the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

High on the discussion agenda are new rules established by the Argentinean government that affect agriculture and automotive sectors, and Argentina’s currency exchange policy, which Brazil says hurts its exports.

Forty per cent of Argentina’s industrial exports went to Brazil last year.

Brazilian foreign minister Antonio Patriota has insisted that the relation with Argentina is ‘strategic’ and there is no ‘Plan B’ as demanded by much of the private sector more interested in other trade partners.

“With Argentina trade situations can emerge but it is a strategic partner. Our future is indissoluble and together we’ll go further than on our own. There is no Plan B as some business people are demanding. This does not mean we will work to overcome difficulties”, said Patriota.

The foreign minister said that diplomacy “is always there to try and fix things, of getting issues on track, but we must also admit that there are decisions from the private agents. In the case of Vale it was the company’s board decision”.

With inputs from Agencies