BRASILIA, Brazil: Brazil and Argentina are ready to stop using U.S. dollars to trade goods between them.
Brazil's president tells the Buenos Aires-based Clarin newspaper that exports and imports between the two nations will be bought and sold in local currency — reals and pesos.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva did not say when the measure would take effect.
Silva says the move will boost bilateral trade, which reached $US17.6 billion so far this year through July.
During that time, Brazil sold more to Argentina than it bought, building a US$3 billion trade surplus.
Silva and Argentine President Cristina Fernandez plan to sign the deal in Brasilia on Monday. It was first proposed two years ago.