Argentina came under a barrage of criticism at the World Trade Organisation on Friday, where the United States, European Union, Japan and 10 other countries accused it of tying up imports in red tape. Argentina's center-left government has imposed a raft of sometimes unorthodox import restrictions in recent years as it battles to shield local industry and its trade surplus, which shrank 11 percent in 2011 to $10.4 billion.
On February 1, President Cristina Fernandez's administration imposed a new system to pre-approve, or reject, nearly every purchase from abroad. "It appears that this new system is operating as a de facto import-restricting scheme on all products," the US ambassador to the WTO, Michael Punke, said, according to a transcript provided to Reuters by one of the participants.
The critics described the policy as "unbefitting any WTO member" and "particularly troubling" because they limit the growth-enhancing prospects for trade. They demanded Argentina take immediate steps to reverse its policies or risk further action at the WTO. Argentina has also been pushing importers to match their purchases abroad with exports, leading to quirky deals such as one whereby carmaker BMW exports rice.
Friday's joint statement at the WTO said government officials were apparently using arm-twisting tactics to enforce the agreements - a frequent complaint of local businesses in Latin America's No 3 economy. "Many companies have reported receiving telephone calls from Argentine government officials in which they are informed that they must agree to undertake such trade balancing commitments prior to receiving authorisation to import goods," Punke said in the joint statement.
According to the agenda of the meeting, the statement was backed by Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Israel, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey, as well as the EU and the United States. Punke said the Industry Ministry's website was replete with press releases about such trade balancing arrangements, including automakers exporting wine, olive oil, and soy meal. "Argentina may claim that companies enter into these arrangements voluntarily, but many of the members supporting this statement share concerns that it may be operating otherwise," he said.
Guillermo Moreno, Argentina's domestic commerce secretary and the top enforcer of the government's interventionist policies in recent years, has been given a key role in monitoring the import restrictions. Argentina will continue to "enforce its sovereign decision over its trade policies ... abiding by WTO norms but rejecting any foreign interference," the Foreign Ministry said.
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