Mercosur idea of a common trade defence policy has been present since the nineties but the initiative is difficult to implement because agreeing on a joint safeguard does not necessarily meet the demands of different interests, according to a leading economist from Brazil’s Getulio Vargas Foundation, GVF.
Argentina is delaying the sale of Paraguayan power to the Uruguayan market (which must cross Argentine territory) for reasons ‘as least publicly’ unknown for both sides interested in the deal, according to the Uruguayan and Paraguayan press.
Mercosur/European sixth round of negotiations to reach a wide ranging cooperation and trade agreement took off Monday in Brussels, but rather timidly with no immediate prospects of an exchange of proposals for market access.
French auto maker Renault has plans to invest 400 million Pesos (100 million US dollars) to produce a new model geared towards the Mercosur market, Argentina's industry minister Debora Giorgi announced this week.
Foreign Affairs ministers from Brazil and Japan announced that over 100 nations have expressed support for a proposal to expand the United Nations Security Council.
Brazil’s proposal to Mercosur members of a coordinated tariffs’ package with the purpose of containing unexpected imports surges, particularly of cheap products, from Europe, Asia and the United States is to be implemented in the second half of the year.
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica called on Sao Paulo corporations to cooperate with the development of Mercosur partners by adopting a policy of alliances with local companies and leaving aside ‘colonizing’ temptations.
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff said it was urgent for Mercosur/European Union trade negotiations to conclude although also emphasizing the need to promote and intensive South/South relations, but warning that some outer region countries are intent in “sending us what they can’t sell in developed countries”.
The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Eclac, raised its 2011 growth estimate for the region to between 4.5% and 5%, said Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena.
The Mercosur presidential summit unanimously supported Argentina’s legitimate sovereignty rights over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands and strongly rejected “regrettable statements” from British Defence Secretary Liam Fox regarding the use of force.