The Uruguayan president expressed his concern that with such policies “the economy will become more and more rigid.”

He said that protectionism could affect Uruguay, which has an open economy and sells products and services to the United States, he stressed.

He warned that protectionist measures constitute a particular complication for small countries, such as Uruguay, “wherever they come from.”

He urged to be alert and ready to “sit down to negotiate” in the understanding that “negotiating can be reversed.”

“We must be careful and very attentive,” he said, and stressed the need to maintain and improve access to open economies, which includes the ‘flexibilization’ of Mercosur.

Orsi acknowledged the complicated international scenario, including recent measures that pose “difficulties” for different agencies of international organizations, such as the UN.

US President Donald Trump decided the withdrawal of his country from the World Health Organization and the UN Human Rights Council.

Also adopted sanctions against the International Criminal Court.

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