Mercosur

• Saturday, April 14th 2012 - 20:30 UTC

  Cruise sent to collect passengers from stranded M/V Plancius docked in South Georgia

  

  The Panama flagged cruise vessel M/V Ushuaia is expected to arrive early next week in South Georgia to pick up the stranded 114 passengers and crew of a similar small cruise M/V Plancius which after experiencing serious propulsion trouble took shelter at King Edward Point Research Station in Grytviken.

• Saturday, April 14th 2012 - 06:48 UTC

  YPF dispute: Argentina runs the risk of becoming an ‘international pariah” warns Spain

  

  Spanish officials warned Argentina on Friday that the country risks becoming “an international pariah” if it follows through on its threats to take control of Spanish-owned energy company Repsol's majority stake in its YPF unit.

• Saturday, April 14th 2012 - 06:17 UTC

  Ocampo drops out from World Bank bid; gives full support to Nigerian candidate

  

  Former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo ended his bid to become World Bank president on Friday, leaving two candidates in an unprecedented challenge to US control of the global development institution.

• Tuesday, April 10th 2012 - 06:54 UTC

  Uruguay will enjoy “positive discrimination” in bilateral trade with Argentina

  

  Argentina and Uruguay presidents Cristina Fernandez and Jose Mujica agreed Monday evening to discuss their trade differences in the framework of Mercosur and promote “positive discrimination” measures for Uruguayan exports to help compensate the restrictions imported to all imports by the Argentine government.

• Wednesday, April 4th 2012 - 08:42 UTC

  Mujica will try and convince Brazil to open Mercosur to third countries

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica arrives Thursday in neighbouring Brazil to discuss with his peer Dilma Rousseff trade expansion, productive and energy complementation and above all opening Mercosur to third countries in search of new markets.

• Sunday, April 1st 2012 - 08:28 UTC

  Rootyling for cash, the central bank has become Argentina’s Piggy bank

  

  The Economist argues that with the latest legislation, the Argentine central bank has lost its legal independence and become the piggy bank of President Cristina Fernandez government.

• Sunday, April 1st 2012 - 08:13 UTC

  Brazil considering tax breaks and higher tariffs to help struggling industries

  

  Brazil will extend a payroll tax break to some manufacturers as part of a package of new measures to help struggling industries in a move to help the recovery of Latin America's top economy, a senior government source revealed to the local media.

• Saturday, March 31st 2012 - 06:41 UTC

  Argentina rejects WTO members’ criticisms; confirms ‘sovereign trade policies’

  

  The Argentine government ratified its trade policies before the World Trade Organization, following the criticism of Argentine trade restrictions from twelve countries, including the US, EU and Japan, and assured it will continue to decide on its trade policies in a sovereign manner.

• Saturday, March 31st 2012 - 06:17 UTC

  Uruguay reveals the existence of an “Argentina 2020: imports substitution” plan

  

  Uruguay’ Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Almagro revealed that the government of President Cristina Fernandez is fully involved in the implementation of a plan called “Argentina 2020: substitution of imports” and therefore bilateral trade negotiations that are difficult, will continue on that same path for several years.

• Friday, March 30th 2012 - 06:47 UTC

  Uruguay against any Falklands’ blockade; supports trade with the Islands

  

  Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro said that the Uruguayan government does not oppose trade with the Falkland Islands and any undertaking to that effect by the private sector is welcome since “Uruguay does not agree with any commercial or economic blockade of the Islands”.