Economy

• Monday, March 27th 2017 - 07:56 UTC

  US biodiesel producers want antidumping duties on imports from Argentina

  

  United States biodiesel producers asked the government to impose antidumping duties on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia that it says have flooded the US market and violated trade agreements. The move by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) trade group comes after two years of tension between US and foreign producers over soaring imports that the group says have threatened the profitability of domestic producers.

• Monday, March 27th 2017 - 07:50 UTC

  Massive protests in Chilean cities against the private pension scheme

  

  Close to 350,000 people in Chile’s capital Santiago and a further two million nationwide took part on Sunday in street protests demanding the replacement of a private pension system imposed under the Pinochet regime, following recommendations from multilateral organisms. The protesters main demand is the elimination of the current pension system, the privately run AFPs (Pension Fund Administrators).

• Monday, March 27th 2017 - 07:45 UTC

  Brazilian meats' scandal: China, Egypt, Chile limit imports ban to the 21 processing plants involved

  

  Brazil won a major victory as it battles to restore credibility amid a tainted meat scandal, with China, Egypt and Chile lifting their bans on its products. The three countries, which had totally closed their markets to Brazilian meat at the start of last week, said they would open them to all but the 21 Brazilian processing plants under investigation.

• Saturday, March 25th 2017 - 10:17 UTC

  Obamacare bipartisan support turns into Trump's first major legislative defeat

  

  In the aftermath of his first major legislative defeat, President Donald Trump is standing by his team, preaching confidence in House Speaker Paul Ryan, and remains convinced of Obamacare's eventual downfall.

• Saturday, March 25th 2017 - 10:00 UTC

  Mexico prepared to “step away” from NAFTA if negotiations don't benefit the country

  

  Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said that if North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations don't benefit all parties involved, the country is willing to “step away” from it. In an interview with Bloomberg, he said pulling out of NAFTA would be a last resort.

• Saturday, March 25th 2017 - 09:29 UTC

  Argentina closer to energy self sufficiency: US$ 2.3bn investment in Vaca Muerta shale fields

  

  Argentina's Tecpetrol, part of the Techint Group, said on Thursday it would invest US$2.3 billion in the Vaca Muerta shale fields through 2019, the largest announcement in the formation in years. Tecpetrol said in a statement the investment was made possibly due to measures from President Mauricio Macri's government, including a deal with labor unions earlier this year and a definition of price supports this month.

• Friday, March 24th 2017 - 11:09 UTC

  Workers at the world's largest copper mine in Chile end 43/day strike

  

  Workers at the world's largest copper mine, BHP Billiton's Escondida in Chile, ended a lengthy strike Thursday that had caused turbulence on global copper markets. But the company warned they had only made matters worse by pushing negotiations back another year and a half.

• Friday, March 24th 2017 - 11:02 UTC

  Maduro desperately selling assets to pay US$ 3.7bn in debts

  

  In an effort to handle its overdue debts, Venezuela is all but giving away oil assets. President Nicolás Maduro is reportedly so desperate to pay the US$ 3.7 billion in debts that he is selling off the assets to Russia.

• Thursday, March 23rd 2017 - 12:09 UTC

  Brazilean adulterated meat situation “no obstacle for EU/Mercosur trade talks”

  

  The adulterated meat situation in Brazil is no obstacle for the current trade negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur, said Eidta Hrdá, Managing Director for the Americas from the European External Action Service, currently in Buenos Aires.

• Thursday, March 23rd 2017 - 11:59 UTC

  Irish farmers' lobby wants beef out of Mercosur/EU trade talks

  

  First vice-president of the European Union Parliament Irish lawmaker Mairead McGuinness has asked EU Commissioners for agriculture and trade for clarity on allegations that Brazil has sold meat that is unfit for consumption.