Economy

• Thursday, July 21st 2022 - 21:20 UTC

  Uruguay refuses to sign Mercosur Summit's joint statement

  

  The Government of Uruguay Thursday refrained from signing the joint document penned at the Mercosur Summit in Asunción, on the grounds that it lacked any mention of flexibilization, which the Luis Lacalle Pou administration needs to broker one-on-one deals with other blocs or countries or blocs of the block.

• Wednesday, July 20th 2022 - 10:55 UTC

  Despite Mercosur summit in Paraguay, Bolsonaro keeps cutting tariffs for critical inputs of industry and medicine

  

  Although Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is not attending the Mercosur summit in Paraguay, his administration continues with its policy of unilaterally reducing the common external tariff. In this case Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber Executive Committee approved the reduction of import tariffs on thirteen items, including medicines, medical equipment, printing ink and polypropylene resin. Tariffs were cut to zero or reduced to 2%, from 2% and 6,5%.

• Wednesday, July 20th 2022 - 10:50 UTC

  Rio Grande port in south Brazil plans to increase export shipments from Uruguay and Paraguay

  

  The Port of Rio Grande in the Brazilian southernmost state of Rio Grande do sul, will have continuous dredging of its access channel. The decision follows strong long-standing demand from operators and the fact that the main maritime port terminal in the state of Rio Grande do Sul also has close links with the three other Mercosur member countries, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.

• Wednesday, July 20th 2022 - 10:45 UTC

  Argentina: unofficial dollar crosses psychological AR$ 300 barrier

  

  The unofficial exchange rate between the local peso and the US dollar most commonly used by Argentines, also referred to as “blue,” Tuesday crossed the iconic AR$ 300, reaching an all-time high.

• Wednesday, July 20th 2022 - 10:39 UTC

  EU eyes CELAC for food; Mercosur “a more complicated issue”

  

  Josep Borrell, the European Union's top diplomat, has said Latin America would host a CELAC meeting sometime next year, but admitted that ratifying the 2019 trade agreement with Mercosur was “a more complicated issue.”

• Tuesday, July 19th 2022 - 10:07 UTC

  Argentines dump their currency in northern provinces and trade with Bolivian money

  

  With the Argentine economy in shambles, inflation out of control heading for hyper inflation, daily increases of prices, and new clamps to have access to some strong currency, --such as the US dollar, which Argentines love--, along the provincial border towns, particularly with neighboring Bolivia and Paraguay trade is done mostly with Pesos, but Bolivianos.

• Tuesday, July 19th 2022 - 09:55 UTC

  FT critical of IMF leniency towards perennial defaulter Argentina

  

  A column published by the Financial Times has stressed that the administration of President Alberto Fernández needed “stricter targets” from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to keep a “weak and populist” government from running astray.

• Tuesday, July 19th 2022 - 09:06 UTC

  Brazilian unicorns hit by mass layoffs as financing runs scarce

  

  Brazilian startup companies also known as “unicorns” are going through mass layoffs after their momentum seems to have calmed down and the consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns and their ensuing economic crises begin to take their toll, it was reported.

• Tuesday, July 19th 2022 - 09:00 UTC

  Telemarketing companies in Brazil banned for being too bold

  

  Brazil's Federal National Consumer Secretariat ( ) has suspended 180 companies for their molesting telemarketing practices harassing would-be consumers unrestrictedly, it was reported Monday.

• Monday, July 18th 2022 - 09:11 UTC

  Peruvian President's approval ratings keep sinking

  

  Peruvian President Pedro Castillo Terrones' approval ratings fell yet again, according to an Ipsos survey released Sunday by the Lima newspaper El Comercio. Meanwhile, 79% of Peruvians also disapproved of the management of Congress, the study showed.