By Eliane Oliveira (O Globo, 27/08/2004)

BRASILIA. Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said yesterday that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gave the economic team 30 days to find a formula to help Paraguay financially to combat piracy and trade in counterfeit goods. According to Amorim, who was accompanied by Paraguayan Chancellor Leila Rachid, among the alternatives would be the granting of a loan and the creation of a compensatory fund.

Amorim explained that issues such as interest and loan terms will be discussed among the finance ministers of both countries.

The announcement was made after a lunch, at Itamaraty, offered by Lula to the president of Paraguay, Nicanor Duarte. The minister clarified that, regardless of this financial support, the intense policing and inspection work on the border will continue. But one of the concerns of the Brazilian authorities is with the increase in unemployment in the neighboring country, caused by the siege of contraband.

? What we want is to enable Paraguayan industries to become healthier and more balanced, recognizing asymmetries. But I must say that piracy is not something that exists only in Paraguay. ? said Amorim.

According to the minister of Paraguay, in a year of administration the current government has tripled the number of seizures of counterfeit products.

Lula also gave the government a 30-day deadline to find ways to finance infrastructure works and trade between Brazil and Paraguay. In this case, funds from the BNDES and the Export Financing Program (Proex) should enter.