The Senate and the representatives from the Executive Branch are still hard at work on eliminating the 25% tax on soft drinks made with HFCS (corn syrup) and the compensation package sought in exchange by the sugar industry, and now by the agricultural sector and industries in general. After a two-hour session, the various sides decided that the meeting had been “cordial,” “amenable” and “fruitful”. The government team, as headed by Manuel Cocco, the chief Customs department, requested that the senators merely remove the syrup tax. In fact, according to Hoy, they do not want the senators to consider any sort of compensation to the various agriculture and industrial interests at all. The government team did suggest a discussion of certain tax breaks for the affected sectors in January, but only after the current 2005 Budget was “on the books.” According to government sources, the compensation package that the Senate was discussing would have prejudicial effects on the IMF talks and possibly delay the approval of the Stand By Agreement.