[PEN-L:8733] EU-LA Summit

["Henry C.K. Liu" <hliu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>From the People's Daily

Strategic Choice Oriented to the New 21st
                    Century--On the First EU-LA Summit

                  ¡¡¡¡
                                      ¡¡¡¡Photo:  Brazilian
                                      President Francisco
                                      Cardoso (first right)
                                      chatting with Cuban
                                      President of Council of
                                      State Fidel Castro
                                      (second right) at the
                                      closing ceremony of the
                  First EU-LA Summit on June 29.

                  ¡¡¡¡ June 29 afternoon saw the First European
                  Union-Latin America Summit closed at Rio de
                  Janeiro. Leaders from 15 EU and 32 Latin American
                  and Caribbean countries had through the Summit
                  signed a joint communique and a program of action
                  pointing to the strong desire for closer political,
                  economic and cultural relations to be developed
                  between Europe and Latin America. In the view of
                  observers following close the Summit, though there
                  were not many practical results that have been
                  achieved, the Summit represents the strategic choice
                  on the part of EU and Latin American countries
                  oriented to the 21st century.

                  ¡¡¡¡ It was French President Chirac who had been
                  the initiator for a summit by leaders of EU and Latin
                  American countries in March 1997 at Rio de Janeiro
                  when he went on a state visit in Brazil. The initiative
                  had then been much well received by leaders
                  throughout Latin America.

                  ¡¡¡¡ Europe has already had wide cultural economic
                  ties developed with Latin America. In recent years,
                  much to EU's attention there has arisen a new rising
                  market in Latin America and as a result of advances
                  made in privatization and opening it has come to
                  attract an increased amount of investments from EU.
                  As things stand now in Latin America, EU has come
                  to become the biggest investor and trade partner with
                  Latin American countries. But new challenges arise
                  for a portion of the Latin American market from the
                  US first out with a proposal for an American Free
                  Trade Region to be established. Immediately after
                  this, the US saw to it that two American summits
                  were successively held to expedite free trade talks
                  with its counterparts it projected. This has however
                  caused much concern to EU ready for an EU-branded
                  Latin American market to be launched. Previously for
                  its negligence EU could not but help it to see Mexico's
                  joining in North America Free Trade Region and a
                  speedy rise in Mexico's 1998 import trade with the
                  US to 79 billion dollars from 41 billion in 1994. To
                  ward off unexpected "Mexican effect" EU turns to
                  seek development of firm close ties oriented to the
                  21st century with the Latin American countries in the
                  way its great strategic goal of setting up a
                  trans-Atlantic free trade market is to be realized.
                  Portugal Foreign Minister Gama pointed out during
                  the recent Summit that EU has already had a "tight
                  agenda" in its talks for developing free trade with
                  Southern Common Market (Mercosur). "EU should
                  not be a loser to the US in carrying out a fight for the

                  Latin American market", he said.

                  ¡¡¡¡ To Latin American countries, a strengthening of
                  political and economic relations with EU also makes a
                  central part indispensable for realizing their strategic

                  goal of developing a multilateral economic and trade
                  market in Latin America. The Latin American
                  countries, especially those of Mercosur, though
                  already having taken an active part in the talks on
                  developing an American Free Trade Region, still do
                  not want to tie themselves to a mono US-led regional
                  market. They expect to establish a trans-Atlantic Free
                  Trade Region, with triangular economic relations to
                  be developed with EU and the US as well and see to
                  it that their position be strengthened with enhanced
                  balanced economic interests gained when international
                  economic talks are held. This is as has been seen in
                  the practice of Mexico. As a trade partner with North
                  America Free Trade Region, it considers also an
                  adjustment of its mono-oriented trade strategy.

                  ¡¡¡¡ A theme central to the Rio de Janeiro summit is
                  EU's free trade talks with Southern Common Market.
                  The two sides had as early back in December 1995
                  an agreement frame signed with which they set the
                  goal for a trans-regional free trade region to be
                  established. But it ran into snags when talking about
                  opening of EU's farm produce markets on the way
                  for EU to develop free trade with the Mercosur
                  countries. With an annual subsidiary of over 100
                  billion dollars to farm produce along with various
                  protective barriers set up as institution of a quota
                  system for imports, anti-dumping and quarantine,
                  these have considerably affected a rise in the export
                  amount of farm produce from the Mercosur
                  countries. The Mercosur countries hold that as farm
                  products form a major part of their exports with
                  strong competitive force they demand the EU
                  countries open their farm produce markets. Since free
                  trade is to be developed it should be mutually
                  beneficial from an opening of markets to each other's
                  products, they said.

                  ¡¡¡¡ EU also has bilateral talks held in the meantime
                  with Chile and Mexico respectively. These include six
                  rounds of trade talks that have already been held by it
                  with Mexico since 1995. During the recent Summit at
                  Rio de Janeiro, Mexico further represented itself as
                  saying that it hopes trade talks are to be completed by
                  the end of this year and that it could be the first to
                  develop free trade with EU among its Latin American
                  counterparts. As to Chile, since it has become a
                  partner among the Mercosur countries its trade talks
                  with EU should been channeled into free trade talks
                  between EU and Southern Common Market. During
                  the recent Summit at Rio de Janeiro, EU also had
                  talks held with Andean Group through which it has
                  decided on an extension of general trade preferential
                  treatment enjoyed by the Group to 2004.

                  ¡¡¡¡ All in all, EU and all Latin American countries
                  represented at the Rio de Janeiro Summit have
                  unanimously expressed the view that a strengthening
                  of trade ties is merely a part of the project for an
                  integral development of economies of EU and Latin
                  America. They demand that the two sides, the two
                  regions, should make redoubled effort to further their
                  relations in political, cultural and social fields. The
Rio
                  de Janeiro Summit has given approval to a program of
                  action that includes altogether 54 items designed as
                  aspects of bilateral relations to be developed. It shows

                  that EU-LA relations have been developed on much
                  wider profound scale than those of American Free
                  Trade Region. But there are many problems still
                  found as a hard nut to crack.

http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199907/01/enc_19990701001041_WorldNews.html