Mercosur to deepen cooperation amid global economic crisis

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

SAUIPE COAST, Brazil, Dec. 16 (Chinese media) -- The 36th Summit of the

Common Market of the South (Mercosur) agreed Tuesday to deepen cooperation in

dealing with the consequences of the global financial crisis.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva denounced the "perversion" of

the existing economic system and urged coordinated action from Mercosur members

to tackle the crisis.

"We face an international scenario marked by new threats. The crisis

reveals the perversion of the current economic system, but the crisis also means

opportunities for big changes," Lula said during the summit in Sauipe Coast, a

beach resort in northeast Brazil.

According to Lula, the Mercosur members, including Brazil, Argentina,

Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, are strong enough to face the current economic

crisis.

"Our countries have given very conscientious answers to the crisis. The

central concern of our governments is to defend the salaries and the employment

of workers, as well as social inclusion," Lula said.

Participants at the meeting have agreed on new trade rules to facilitate

commodity flows among Mercosur members, which will compensate the U.S.

suspension of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) for

textiles and other manufacturing goods.

In a declaration at the end of the summit, Mercosur also defended the need

for "an extended international dialogue, with the active participation of

developing countries, to build a new international financial architecture."

The group called on the richest countries to avoid taking measures that

would result in additional costs for developing nations.

The member countries agreed on the importance of promoting regional trade,

but fell short of reaching a deal on ending the so-called Common External Fee

(TEC), which levies double tariffs when a product enters a Mercosur country by

way of another.

Cuban Leader Raul Castro attended the Mercosur Summit as a guest in his

first tour abroad since taking office in February.

Castro said that "Cuba reaffirms its solidarity and willingness to work"

with Latin America on the integration process.

Other guests to the summit include Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. "We

should not add social collapse to stock market collapse," said Bachelet, hailing

Mercosur's "timely response" to the financial upheavals.