Argentina and Brazil in new footwear dispute
08/01/2014
This is a long-standing problem, but recent tensions have been present in footwear trade between the two countries since 2011, when Brazil presented similar complaints.
Abicalçados president, Heitor Klein, said in a statement in early January that the shoes had been ordered by retailers in Argentina in time for sales events between October and the end of the year. He said Brazilian brands and manufacturers had met agreed shipment deadlines, but that their merchandise had been blocked at the border.
“The government in Brazil has reached out to make contact with its counterpart in Argentina over this,” the Abicalçados president said. “Two ministers have travelled to Argentina to try to resolve the issue, but to little effect so far. Things eased up a little in the final days of December, but the volumes released were very small.”
He attributed the problem to pressures Argentinean footwear manufacturers have applied to the government in Buenos Aires. “The balance of trade favours Brazil,” he added, “and that causes problems for the Argentinean economy.”
Mr Klein said it was up to Argentina to get negotiations going again so that the deadlock can be broken and he warned that disputes of this kind between the two biggest partners in the Mercosur trading block could put in danger a proposed free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union.
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