Economy

• Saturday, May 14th 2011 - 05:15 UTC

  French minister finds ‘strong tension and difficulties’ between Argentina and Brazil

  

  French Foreign Trade Secretary Pierre Lellouche said he had witnessed ‘strong tensions’ among Mercosur members during negotiations with the European Union for a free trade agreement.

• Saturday, May 14th 2011 - 05:07 UTC

  World’s main trading nations remain divided on global agreement: Doha Round doomed?

  

  The world's main trading nations remain divided over a global trade deal despite a compromise plan put forward by the European Union to rescue the stalled Doha trade round, the EU trade chief said.

• Saturday, May 14th 2011 - 05:03 UTC

  US tourism industry calls for reforming the “antiquated visa process”

  

  The U.S. Travel Association unveiled a plan to create 1.3 million U.S. jobs and add 859 billion dollars to the U.S. economy by 2020 by reforming an antiquated visa process that often drives international travelers to other countries. The heart of U.S. Travel's plan is to increase staffing, reduce visa interview wait times and expand the Visa Waiver Program.

• Saturday, May 14th 2011 - 04:50 UTC

  Argentina/Brazil agree on a ‘constructive dialogue’ to overcome trade disputes

  

  Following a long day of open letters and press exchanges Argentina and Brazil finally agreed on the ground rules for the initiation of a ‘constructive dialogue’ to soften the trade dispute which erupted when Brazil imposed non automatic licences on imported cars, including from Mercosur’ main partner Argentina.

• Friday, May 13th 2011 - 14:53 UTC

  Police with clubs is not the answer to Chile’s HidroAysén debate

  

  Following Monday’s questionable approval of Chile’s major HidroAysén dam project - a jerry-rigged vote if there ever was one - the administration of President Sebastian Piñera turned police loose on thousands of demonstrators protesting the Patagonia dam project later that evening.

• Friday, May 13th 2011 - 14:47 UTC

  Capital inflow to Brazil during April falls dramatically

  

  Brazil’s tax increase on foreign loans and debt sales to shield itself from the global currency war helped reduce by 88% the number of dollars that entered the country in April.

• Friday, May 13th 2011 - 14:11 UTC

  Mercosur has a surplus production of three million tons of rice

  

  Uruguay which does not harvest transgenic rice has been consolidating as a growing European Union supplier and is a traditional provider for Mexico and Middle East countries such as Iran and Iraq.

• Friday, May 13th 2011 - 14:03 UTC

  Brazil tightens requirements for car imports: Argentina and Asia targeted

  

  Brazil is tightening requirements for imports of cars in a move that sparked complaints from Argentina, its biggest supplier of the product. Imports to Brazil will need a special license that can take as long as 60 days to be approved, the Trade Ministry said in an e-mailed statement.

• Friday, May 13th 2011 - 13:55 UTC

  Brazilian president still recovering from pneumonia cancels trip to Paraguay

  

  Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff cancelled on medical advice Sunday’s trip to Asunción where she was scheduled to participate in the bicentennial celebrations of Paraguay’s independence.

• Friday, May 13th 2011 - 05:18 UTC

  IMF warns Latam economic boom ‘could end in tears’ if spending is not trimmed

  

  Latin America's economic boom could end in a “full-blown” crisis unless the region's governments properly manage the situation, the International Monetary Fund's top regional official said in an unusually stark warning to both policymakers and investors.