Argentina's Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero Monday stressed that the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) is hindered by what he called the “asymmetries” between the two blocs.
Paraguayan Foreign Minister Julio César Arriola Monday called for a more effective and efficient Mercosur during the bloc's two-day summit in Puerto Iguazu in the Argentine province of Misiones.
Trade relations between Brazil and Argentina are improving with an overall volume of US$12.5 billion in the first five months of this year. Brazil exported US$7.5 billion worth of goods and imported US$ 5 billion from Argentina, according to the Comexstat portal of the Brazilian Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Services.
Delegations from Paraguay, Bolivia, Brazil, and Uruguay recently convened a meeting to challenge Argentina’s imposition of a toll fee on the Paraná-Paraguay Waterway. The neighboring countries argued that the evidence presented by Argentina did not provide enough services to justify the charge.
Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said Wednesday it was essential that an agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) be concluded as soon as possible, Agencia Brasil reported. Rebelo made those remarks during a forum in Lisbon which was also attended by Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, who is also the South American country's Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services.
Argentine President Alberto Fernández Monday told his Brazilian colleague Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva that “when you are in trouble you ask your friends for help and friends are always there,” it was reported. Both leaders met Monday in Brasilia to celebrate 200 years of bilateral relations.
Uruguay's Mario Colman Monday became the new Speaker of Mercosur's Parliament (Parlasur), it was reported in Montevideo.
Brazilian president Lula da Silva reiterated his support for the signing of the agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur but expressed his dissatisfaction with the additional terms proposed by the European bloc, calling them “unacceptable.”
Brazil, Uruguay, and Bolivia Friday supported Paraguay's stance regarding Argentina's decision to charge tolls to barges sailing through the Port of Santa Fe-Confluencia section of the Parana River, it was reported in Buenos Aires after a new meeting of the Commission of the Paraguay-Parana Waterway Agreement.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Friday insisted in Paris on the advantages of using a common currency for foreign trade operations and underlined once again that the European Union's demands for the Mercosur agreement were a “threat.”