The issue focused on Spain's willingness to ignore Italy's insistence that Madrid declare independence from Rome and impose austerity measures at its gates. In July 2013, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ruled out negotiations over economic reforms if there were no agreements between the two governments. He declared "there will not be agreement," adding that talks should proceed without concessions or bilateral diplomatic initiatives. The dispute highlighted problems with cooperation among Latin America's 36 trading partners in negotiating standards for consumer goods. Germany called for stronger partnership relations between consumers and producers