Economy

• Monday, October 13th 2025 - 07:48 UTC

  Trump’s trade war has cemented Brazil’s place as the soybean superpower, says The Economist

  

  They say no one wins a trade war. Certainly, there are fewer bigger losers than soybean farmers in the United States. Since May China, by far their biggest customer, has refused to buy a single bushel in retaliation for Donald Trump’s tariffs. The spat is ruining farmers in Illinois; Mr Trump is set to announce a US$10bn agricultural-relief package. It is also raising costs for crushers in China’s Shandong province, who press beans into animal feed and cooking oil. But there has been one big winner: soybean producers in Brazil. The rift between American farmers and their Chinese clients has let Brazil cement its place as the world’s soybean superpower.

• Saturday, October 11th 2025 - 10:20 UTC

  Trump announces additional tariffs on Chinese products

  

  US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he would be imposing 100% tariffs on China starting November 1 or sooner, accusing Beijing of a “hostile” trade stance related to rare earth mineral exports. The new surcharge will be piled on top of existing taxes (30%).

• Friday, October 10th 2025 - 10:03 UTC

  US buys Argentine pesos to rescue Milei from “acute illiquidity”

  

  US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced on Thursday a currency swap with Argentina, whereby Washington would obtain pesos from the South American country in exchange for US$20 billion, following intensive meetings in Washington with Economy Minister Luis Toto Caputo.

• Thursday, October 9th 2025 - 15:14 UTC

  Brazil finds other markets for its exports amid US restrictions

  

  Although Brazil's exports to the United States fell 20.3% yoy in September, growth in sales to other markets ensured record results, the South American country's Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services announced this week.

• Tuesday, October 7th 2025 - 10:15 UTC

  Fitch improves Paraguay's grading, but still short of investment status

  

  Fitch Ratings upgraded Paraguay's risk outlook on Monday from “Stable” to “Positive,” moving the country closer to achieving an investment-grade rating from the agency, although the overall grading remained at BB+.

• Tuesday, October 7th 2025 - 10:11 UTC

  Argentine Economy Minister seeks help from Bessent and Georgieva

  

  Argentine Economy Minister Luis Toto Caputo held key meetings on Monday in Wasdhington, DC, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in search for a lifeline ahead of the Oct. 26 midterm elections when the ruling La Libertad Avanza (LLA) of President Javier Milei will seek to build political muscle to face the administration's remaining two years. A concrete announcement is expected from Caputo's meetings.

• Saturday, October 4th 2025 - 10:22 UTC

  IMF appoints Daniel Katz as new second-in-command

  

  Following the resignation of Economist Gita Gopinath earlier this year, the Washington-based International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Executive Board announced on Friday that it was hiring Daniel Katz as the new First Deputy Managing Director (FDMD), who is to assume his new duties on Monday.

• Friday, October 3rd 2025 - 10:55 UTC

  Bessent insists US ready to help Argentina

  

  US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly reiterated his strong support for Argentine President Javier Milei's government, confirming that his agency was prepared “to do whatever it takes” to stabilize the South American country's economy and was working on a currency swap package believed to be around US$20 billion.

• Thursday, October 2nd 2025 - 08:01 UTC

  “Argentina’s finances just got even more surreal”, by The Economist

  

  On September 22nd, 15 minutes before Argentina’s foreign-exchange markets opened, America’s government made an intervention. “Argentina is a systemically important US ally,” Scott Bessent, America’s treasury secretary, wrote on X, a social network. He added that the United States would “do what is needed” and that “all options for stabilization are on the table.”

• Wednesday, October 1st 2025 - 22:08 UTC

  CFK fears peso devaluation after Oct. 26 midterm elections

  

  As the Argentine Government of Javier Milei grapples to keep the local peso from plunging against the US dollar, former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner posted from her house arrest that everybody knew about the impending devaluation after the Oct. 26 midterm elections. “Oh, Milei! ... It seems to me that they realized that after Sunday the 26th, you would devalue,” CFK wrote.