
Argentine foreign minister Diana Mondino is proving to be an efficient peace maker. Despite president Javier Milei aggressive rhetoric towards the Beijing regime during and after the electoral campaign, Ms. Mondino seems to have managed a working understanding with the Chinese government.

Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino is to meet on Thursday or Friday with Chinese Ambassador Wang Wei to discuss a US$ 6.5 billion currency swap brokered by former Economy Minister Sergio Massa last year, among other topics.

Argentine President Javier Milei returned this weekend to the mainland after touring the Marambio and Esperanza Bases in Antarctica, it was reported in Buenos Aires.

Argentine President Javier Milei praised Economy Minister Luis Toto Caputo for his management of the country's inflation for December 2023 and said that if it reached 30% it would be “a great number” because previous estimates spoke of 45%.

Uruguayan authorities forecast a 4.9% inflation for 2024 while the target range will remain between 3 and 6%, the Macroeconomic Coordination Committee reported in Montevideo.

Lawmakers from both major parties have reached a deal to avoid a US government shutdown in 2024, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Sunday in Washington DC.

A wide ranging alliance of US government officials, cattle farmers and beef organizations gathered to strongly oppose the purchase and import of fresh beef from Paraguay, but a final ruling from the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service decided in favor of the Mercosur country member. The decision became effective last December 14 and opens the doors to the Paraguayan produce.

According to a report from Paraguay's National Service of Animal Quality and Health (Senacsa) released this week in Asunción, pork exports have been recording growing numbers since 2019 and reached a 173% increase from 2022 to 2023.

Inflation in Uruguay during the year 2023 amounted to 5.1%, it was reported in Montevideo. The South American country's lowest rate in 18 years was achieved mainly thanks to prices reasonably stable in household goods, transportation, and communications, it was explained by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew only 4.9% in 2005.

Uruguay's sales abroad dropped 13% interannually, according to a study released this week in Montevideo. Uruguay XXI's Annual Uruguay Trade Report showed that “neither the external nor the internal context contributed to Uruguayan exports of goods.” Uruguay XXI also noted that despite the fall from 2022 figures, 2023 was “the second year with the highest value exports in the last decade.”