Britain calls on EU to lodge ‘concerns’ over Argentina

Britain called Wednesday on its EU partners to follow its lead in lodging concerns about what it said was Argentina’s attempt to throw up trade barriers amid tensions over the Falkland Islands. The call came after London summoned Argentina’s charge d’affaires to the Foreign Office over the country’s threat to boycott British products. On Monday, Argentinian authorities refused permission for two British cruise ships to dock at Ushuaia on the southern tip of Argentina after they had visited the Falklands. The charge d’affaires, Osvaldo Narciso Marsico, was told “that such actions against legitimate commercial activity were a matter of concern, not just for the UK, but for the EU as a whole”, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said. “We expect the EU to lodge similar concerns with Argentine authorities,” she added. Earlier, the Foreign Office described Britain’s trading relationship with Argentina as “important” and said any attempt to damage it was “deeply disappointing”. “The economic relationship between the UK and Argentina is an important one, which contributes to prosperity and growth for both our citizens,” a spokesman said. “So it is firmly not in Argentina’s economic interest to put up these barriers to trade.” Argentina’s Industry Minister Debora Giorgi was reported on Tuesday to have telephoned senior officials of Argentinian and multinational importing companies to urge them to find alternatives to British products. Last year, Argentina exported goods worth $779 million (583 million euros) to Britain, including soybeans, soy oil, corn and peanuts, and imported goods worth $664 million including chemicals, pharmaceuticals and cars. Tensions have been building between the two countries ahead of the 30th anniversary in April of the start of the war over the Falklands. The windswept islands in the South Atlantic are controlled by London but claimed by Buenos Aires, which launched an invasion in 1982 that led to then premier Margaret Thatcher sending a naval taskforce to re-take control. Prime Minister David Cameron’s spokesman earlier accused Argentina of seeking confrontation. “It is clearly very sad that Argentina continues with their policy of confrontation instead of cooperation. We think that is counter-productive and also a complete misreading of Britain’s resolve on this issue,” he said. The Foreign Office said it was happy to discuss “a range of regional issues” with Argentina but insisted: “We will not negotiate the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless the people of those islands wish it.”