Uruguay eager to sign free trade pact with China
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-07-21 10:18 Uruguay's President Tabare
Vazquez said here on Thursday that it would be "wonderful" to sign a free trade
agreement with China.
Vazquez made the remarks after arriving here to attend the summit of the 30th
Common Market of the South (Mercosur) in the northern Argentine city of Cordoba.
"I see it as a great idea," Vazquez said in an interview with Xinhua.
Uruguay and Paraguay, the two smaller partners in Mercosur, suggested during
the meeting that their Mercosur partners -- Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina --
allow them to sign free trade agreements outside Mercosur.
Mercosur nations are forbidden to sign bilateral deals with nations outside
the bloc unless they win the agreement of all the other member states.
Uruguay and Paraguay have been seeking free trade accords with the United
States, a move which is opposed by leading nations in the bloc.
However, no Mercosur nation has yet discussed such a deal with
China.
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