Acids. -Methoxycarbonylation of polyhalogenated benzene (I) shows that fluorine substitution is not observed. Carbonylation of trichlorobenzene (VI), carried out under the same conditions, occurs in position 2 leading to methyldichlorobenzoate (VII) as the major product. Thus the selectivity of the carbonylation process of (I) is predominantly determined by the nature of halogen rather than by the relative positions of the substituents at the aromatic ring. Since the fluorine atom in (I) remains intact this clearly indicates the anion-radical activation character of aryl halides by a cobalt catalyst. -(BOYARSKIY, V. P.; FONARI*, M. S.; KHAYBULOVA, T. S.; GDANIEC, M.; SIMONOV, Y. A.; J. Fluorine Chem. 131 (2010) 1, 81-85,