Mercosur

• Tuesday, March 6th 2012 - 05:03 UTC

  Paraguay exports to Argentina plunge 70%; ‘mirror’ countermeasures considered

  

  Mercosur junior member Paraguay that is suffering the Argentine restrictions on imports and has seen its February exports plummet 70% is planning ‘mirror’ countermeasures but emphasizing on those products with greater impact for Argentina and lesser for Paraguay.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 20:11 UTC

  Argentina trade restrictions cut Uruguayan exports by almost half in February

  

  Uruguayan exports to Argentina during the month of February plummeted 46.6% compared to the same month a year ago according to Uruguay’s Union of Exporters, which attributes the poor performance to the imports restrictions imposed by the neighbouring country.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 06:10 UTC

  Mercosur countries to agree on a common protocol for vessels from the Falklands

  

  Mercosur country members are scheduled to hold a meeting in Rio do Janeiro to agree on a common protocol for all vessels originating in the Falkland Islands and calling at regional ports, announced Uruguay’s Defence minister Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro.

• Monday, March 5th 2012 - 05:50 UTC

  Uruguayan economy forecasted to expand 4% to 4.5%; inflation main challenge

  

  Uruguay's economy is poised to expand 4% to 4.5% this year, a moderate slowdown from the growth of just over 6% seen in 2011, the president of the central bank Mario Bergara told reporters during an IMF conference held in Punta del Este.

• Tuesday, February 28th 2012 - 01:58 UTC

  Mercosur/Gulf states closer to trade agreement but leaving petrochemicals for later

  

  Brazil is eager to finalize a free trade agreement between the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and the Mercosur bloc but believes the petrochemicals sector will be exempted until further study after the signing, said Brazilian Trade and Industry Minister Fernando Pimentel.

• Tuesday, February 28th 2012 - 00:27 UTC

  EC report on trade and investments criticizes Mercosur protectionism

  

  The European Commission in its latest report on trade and investments complains about Mercosur protectionist policies, restrictions to maritime transport and to the export of commodities particularly from Brazil and Argentina.

• Monday, February 27th 2012 - 04:55 UTC

  Mujica admits trade relations with Argentina are “very complicated”

  

  Uruguayan President José Mujica admitted trade relations with Argentina are “very complicated” because of the import restrictions implemented by the government of President Cristina Fernández and did not discard ‘mirror’ measures to counter

• Friday, February 24th 2012 - 20:38 UTC

  Uruguay admits textile exports could be infringing Brazil’s antidumping rules

  

  Uruguay’s Minister of Industry and Energy Roberto Kreimerman admitted that Brazil suspended the access of textiles from Uruguay alleging that they were essentially Chinese cloth rolls with minimum input but stamped as Uruguayan manufactured and dispatched to Brazil.

• Thursday, February 23rd 2012 - 05:14 UTC

  Mujica says presence of Prince William in Malvinas is not a ‘nice’ gesture

  

  Uruguayan president Jose Mujica said that the presence of Prince William, heir to the British Crown, in the Malvinas Islands is a gesture “not at all nice” and called for the dispute with Argentina not to become military because it’s no good for anybody, least for the region.

• Thursday, February 23rd 2012 - 05:03 UTC

  Inflation, over-valued currency and threat to exports, Uruguay’s 2012 challenge

  

  Inflation and an over valued currency are among the main challenges faced by the Uruguayan economy this year in the framework of a global recession which threatens the country’s exports