The next Minister of Economy, Gabriel Oddone, referred to the international trade scenario following the assumption of office of Donald Trump in the United States.

“We are concerned about the change in the scenario” in terms of global trade policy, said the next Minister of Economy and Finance, Gabriel Oddone, on Tuesday when asked about the possibility of a trade war between the United States and China.

According to Oddone, “the rules of the game in the hands of multilateral or plurilateral organizations are currently in decline,” while individual countries’ initiatives and trade policies “are much more relevant.”

In this regard, the next leader of the government's economic team said that the current world "is moving towards more protectionist orientations," which leads to "new rules of the game that for a country like Uruguay, small and open to the world, is a very important challenge."

For the economist, the characteristics of trade policy that worked in the last 50 years "are probably very different today" and he said that this is part of what the government has to "internalize" in its management.

"We are concerned about the change in the scenario for a small and open country; and at the same time, we have to be very attentive to how we move in this regard," he said at a press conference, referring to the position that Uruguay should adopt in terms of international relations.

ODDONE'S VIEW OF THE ECONOMIES OF ARGENTINA AND BRAZIL

Regarding the Brazilian economy, which faces multiple macroeconomic challenges and whose currency has depreciated significantly in recent months, Oddone explained that the fiscal scenario "did not satisfy the markets" and that this led to the fiscal adjustment measures announced by the Brazilian government "being initially received with some mistrust."

However, he indicated that in recent weeks "this has tended to normalize" and said that Uruguay "has to remain expectant" because Brazil's fiscal situation "constitutes a challenge" for the authorities.

Regarding Argentina, the next Minister of Economy of Uruguay highlighted that the government of Javier Milei "has substantially improved" inflation, although he warned that it still "has a series of macroeconomic challenges ahead of it."

In this regard, he pointed out that "the dismantling of the multiple exchange rates" that govern the neighboring country, "can bring some market movements that can give a certain volatility to the exchange market," although he said that he does not expect that this will mean "a big problem for Uruguay" if the Argentine government manages to execute it in an orderly manner.

"We are confident that the economic situation in both Brazil and Argentina will not pose major problems for Uruguay, but that does not mean that there will not be challenges from both countries," said Oddone.