PARAGUAY’s refusal to return to MERCOSUR after the lifting of the sanctions implemented on it will be a harsh blow for all the export sectors, according to a statement from the Paraguayan Economy Analysis Center in Asunción (CADEP).

This CADEP comment came after MERCOSUR rescinded Paraguay’s membership suspension, implemented after the removal from office of constitutional President Fernando Lugo in June 2012.

This rupture of democratic order and regional condemnation continued until presidential elections in Paraguay took place and ends August 15 with the inauguration of Horacio Cartes as President.

The Asunción Center was referring to the campaign unleashed by sectors of the right opposed to regional integration, and vacillations in this context on the part of Cartes, who finally spoke of the importance of bilateral negotiations on cooperation with the Southern Common Market.

CADEP stated that if Paraguay does not respond with open arms to the regional group’s gesture this will also mean setbacks to the industrialization process underway, given that companies are mostly dependent on trade with countries within the area.

Official figures reveal an annual trade amounting to five billion dollars with neighboring MERCOSUR member countries, and the very high assignation for cooperation from the bloc enjoyed by Paraguay.

In addition to this is the tariff issue, as upon losing the prerogative of zero tariffs on its exports, the national economy will be noticeably affected.

Leaving MERCOSUR on the basis of outdated political beliefs could prove to be a negative decision for a nation in which almost half of the population is living in poverty, according to specialists. (PL)