The risks of pursuing bilateral deals between Uruguay and Asia

Uruguay's foreign ministry is insisting on advancing bilateral tariff preference agreements with Vietnam outside the regulatory framework of Mercosur, a stance that could end up eroding the negotiating position of the South American bloc.

Unilateral opening without a common external tariff threatens to expose the country's small local manufacturing industry to unfair competition.

Uruguay should prioritize strengthening regional integration and adding value to its agricultural exports before seeking deregulatory commercial shortcuts.

Unfortunately, intra-regional trade in Latin America is very weak compared with what each country exports separately to the rest of the world. The time has come to rethink the region as a single trading bloc facing third parties, rather than letting individual national interests take over, since in the long run this will undermine the economic sustainability of the entire region.