Economy

• 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.

• Thursday, March 23rd 2017 - 11:50 UTC

  Massive teachers protest in Buenos Aires challenging austerity measures

  

  Tens of thousands of Argentine teachers marched in the capital Buenos Aires on Wednesday as part of a nationwide strike challenging the administration of President Mauricio Macri. Unions for private and public school teachers are demanding a pay increase of 35% to compensate for Argentina's high inflation in consumer prices.

• Wednesday, March 22nd 2017 - 12:20 UTC

  Relief for Macri: stats confirm the economy is moving out of recession

  

  Argentina's economy exited a prolonged recession in the second half of last year, with government data on Tuesday showing a 0.5% expansion in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared with the third quarter. Indec stats agency also revised its estimate for third-quarter GDP to a 0.1% increase over the second quarter, up from a 0.2% decline previously. Taken together, the data show Argentina's economy grew in the second half after shrinking for three straight quarters.

• Wednesday, March 22nd 2017 - 12:09 UTC

  Argentine farmers confident they can increase sales 28% to UK in the short term

  

  Argentina has the potential to increase food sales to the UK by 28% in the short term, from the current US$ 830 million to US$ 1.060bn, according to the president of the powerful farmers' organization, Argentine Rural Society, Luis Miguel Etchevehere, currently in London with a business mission sponsored by the Argentine foreign ministry, the Argentine-British Chamber of Commerce and the embassy in London.