According to Mr. Rodolfo Caffaro Kramer, Vietnam is an important trade partner of Mercosur. Mercosur’s members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela and six associate members of Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Suriname. The Mercosur-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce was set up in December 2013, headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay. It has set up representative offices in Hanoi, Jakarta, Manila, Asuncion , and Buenos Aires
Mercosur is the fifth largest economic bloc of the world and one of the top manufacturers of food, materials and energy with a market of 275 million consumers, 3.3 trillion USD worth of GDP, accounting for 83 percent of the South America’s total. The annual trade within the bloc comes close to 62 billion USD each year.
Since the first visit of Mercosur – ASEAN Chamber of Commerce’s delegation in 2015, Mercosur member states and Vietnam has gained positive results in trade exchange, Mr. Rodolfo Caffaro Kramer said.
This second visit of Mercosur’s delegation to Vietnam aims to boost trade among Mercosur members and Vietnam through building a “bridge” for businesses of both sides, according to Mr. Rodolfo Caffaro Kramer. The delegation will work with leaders of big Vietnamese firms as well as leaders of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss the organisation of a visit of ASEAN businesses to Mercosur member countries.
Mr. Rodolfo Caffaro Kramer also said that Argentine businesses are interested in importing Vietnamese coffee.
Regarding the impacts of the establishment of the ASEAN Community to the Mercosur, Mr. Rodolfo Caffaro Kramer said that the liberalisation of trade, investment and services as well as the simplification of administrative procedures among the ASEAN members will create favourable conditions for South American firms in Southeast Asia, helping them save time and cost.
However, Mr. Rodolfo Caffaro Kramer assessed that trade between Mercosur and ASEAN has yet to match their huge potential, he said, asserting that this means there is room for both sides to bolster their partnership.
