
Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance explored this week in Chile the possibilities of a gradual, and flexible, integration but left aside all possibility of a near future agreement on tariffs.

The Pacific Alliance (PA) and the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) combined represent more than 80% of regional foreign trade as well as population, and more than 90% of GDP and direct foreign investment flows, according to a new report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Brazil must speed international trade agreement negotiations, said cabinet chief Aloizo Mercadante, in direct reference to Mercosur and demanding an end to internal disputes.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez left Thursday evening for El Calafate, Santa Cruz province, to spend the long weekend with her family, presidential spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro reported.

A former Brazilian Development minister and currently member of the board of BRF, one of the world's leading food corporations, Luiz Fernando Furlan said Brazil is far away from world trade agreements and urgently needs to review policies in this area, including participation in Mercosur.

Bolivia trusts that at the coming Mercosur summit in Argentina it can advance in solving the technical-legal difficulties that are delaying the country's full membership of the trade and political group. Allegedly one of the main differences rests in neighboring Paraguay and how it would accept Bolivia's incorporation.

The tendency to impose trade-restricting measures remains strong among the European Union's commercial partners, fuelling continuing uncertainty in the world economy. These are the main findings of the European Commission's annual report on protectionism published Monday 17 November.

By Jaime Trobo (*) - Parlasur, acronym for Mercosur Parliament, decided to approve a declaration relative to the Malvinas Islands situation, and more specifically on the sovereignty conflict between the Argentine Republic and Great Britain, which has been ongoing for over 180 years with no reasonable accord.

By R. Viswanathan (*) - The reelection of President Dilma Rouseff means continuation of the slow growth of the Brazilian economy and a lower likelihood of much-needed, major political and economic reforms. India should lower its expectations on a global partnership with Brazil.

The Mercosur parliament, Parlasur, in a special Monday session held in Montevideo, rejected British 'control' over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands and described the situation as a colonial conflict of 'global' proportion which threatens the region.