Brazil, Argentina sign memorandum to standardize auto sector

The governments of Brazil and Argentina signed a memorandum of understanding standardizing technical specifications for production in the auto sector in both countries. The document was inked Friday at the Brazilian Foreign Ministry by Aloysio Nunes Ferreira and  Marcos Jorge—the Brazilian ministers of Foreign Relations and Industry, respectively—and Argentina’s Production Minister Dante Sica.

Under the memorandum, a work group with specialists from both countries are to be given 180 days to set the standards for the technical specifications linked to vehicle safety. After this deadline, other teams will continue to work on requirements for noise emission and polluting gases, energy efficiency, and auto parts.

Another work group is expected to be dedicated to technical norms on the issuance of domestic permits for differently categorized vehicles and to identifying disparate and shared regulations in both markets. The government estimates the whole process of standardization to take approximately two years.

“[The memorandum] will enable our teams to start working on the regulatory standards without further ado, in a bid for us to have similar norms in the auto industry,”  Minister Marcos Jorge said. In his view, the business environment between the two countries is likely to improve after the change.

The minister also pointed out that Argentina is the market to which most of Brazil’s auto exports are headed, adding that the industry represents some four percent of the country’s gross domestic product.