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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, October 20th 2025 - 07:29 UTC

Economy

  • Thursday, May 15th 2025 - 10:04 UTC

    Paraguay: Maquila Regime yields encouraging results

    Interannually, 6,795 workplaces were created under this manufacturing regime, where 100% of its output is for export

    In Paraguay, exports under the Maquila regime totaled US$ 388 million as of April 2025, a 13% yoy increase driven mainly by auto parts, textiles, aluminum products, food, and plastics, currently generating 32,712 direct jobs, a 26% growth from the previous year.

  • Wednesday, May 14th 2025 - 13:48 UTC

    EU tariffs on Falklands exports, “we are in ongoing discussions”, says FCDO

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy was questioned at the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on Falklands foreign trade

    A specific question in UK Parliament on the Falkland Islands Government urgent call to the UK Government for the use of the current UK/EU reset agreement as an opportunity to remove the detrimental post-Brexit tariffs on Falklands exports, received from Foreign Secretary David Lammy a brief reply of “ongoing discussions”.

  • Wednesday, May 14th 2025 - 10:56 UTC

    Brazil's Central Bank signs currency swap with People’s Bank of China

    The BCB already has a similar agreement with the US Federal Reserve

    Brazil's Central Bank (BCB) and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) signed a currency swap agreement Tuesday worth R$ 157 billion (US$ 28 billion). The arrangement is valid for five years.

  • Tuesday, May 13th 2025 - 09:37 UTC

    Fitch ups Argentina's grading by one notch

    Disinflation under La Libertad Avanza “already exceeded our previous expectations,” Fitch underlined

    Fitch Ratings upgraded Argentina's long-term foreign currency debt rating from CCC to CCC+, citing the rapid economic recovery under President Javier Milei. Key factors include a new US$ 20 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement, with an initial US$ 12 billion disbursement boosting reserves to US$38 billion, and the liberalization of the exchange market an AR$ 1,000 / AR$ 1,400 band per US dollar.

  • Tuesday, May 13th 2025 - 08:22 UTC

    “Brazil needs long term planning in industry and technology”, if it is to upgrade foreign trade quality

    Feldmann, “We are not a country that plans for the future; industrial policy cannot have a short-term horizon. We need to follow Asian countries implementing 20-year plans.”

    Alarm bells are again ringing in Brazil, The country might have impressive foreign trade figures and surpluses, but Brazil has been unable to gain competitive advantages in sectors beyond agriculture and mining. “Exports remain heavily concentrated in commodities such as soybeans, oil, and iron ore,” and the country has been unable “to upgrade the quality of this trade relationship, especially by exporting more industrial products.”

  • Monday, May 12th 2025 - 20:37 UTC

    Lula announces sizeable Chinese investments in infrastructure

    Lula made those remarks at a Sino-Brazilian Business Forum in Beijing

    Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced Monday that Chinese investors would be allocating some R$ 27 billion (US$ 4.69 billion at the current exchange rate) to infrastructure and other development in the South American country. He made those remarks during his participation in the Brazil-China Business Forum in Beijing. The investments will also cover the areas of education and technology, it was explained.

  • Saturday, May 10th 2025 - 10:21 UTC

    Milei describes his planned stage show at the Berlin Wall

    “My voluptuous blondes are going to be dressed as statues of freedom and everything,” Milei rambled on during a broadcast show

    During his appearance at the streaming show of die-hard Libertarian Daniel Parisini -known on social networks as Fat Dan (Gordo Dan)- Argentine President Javier Milei suggested staging a “Trial of Capitalism” by the Berlin Wall, with proceeds benefiting the Garrahan Pediatrics Hospital in Buenos Aires.

  • Friday, May 9th 2025 - 14:51 UTC

    Venezuela seeks support from Russia and China amid economic crisis

    Venezuela’s economic crisis is worsening, with inflation expected to reach nearly 200% in 2025

    Venezuela is turning to its geopolitical allies, Russia and China, to counter a deepening economic crisis, as the South American nation faces dwindling oil revenues, runaway inflation, and a severe currency devaluation.

  • Thursday, May 8th 2025 - 17:54 UTC

    US, UK reach trade deal marking Washington's openness to business

    The new deal includes the lifting of a 25% tariff on UK steel

    President Donald Trump announced a new trade deal between the United States and Britain, which he described as the first major such agreement of his second term. The announcement, made from the Oval Office with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on speakerphone, highlighted the accord's benefits for both nations.

  • Thursday, May 8th 2025 - 10:41 UTC

    BCB ups Selic rate to 14.75% per annum

    It was the sixth Selic rate hike in a row

    Brazil's Central Bank's (BCB) Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) unanimously decided Wednesday to raise the Selic benchmark rate by 0.5 percentage points to 14.75% per year, consolidating a contraction cycle. This decision was driven by high food and energy prices and global economic uncertainties, and the financial markets were expecting the move.