Mercosur

• Monday, June 27th 2011 - 06:24 UTC

  Parlasur member claims Mercosur summits have become ‘display of empty rhetoric’

  

  Mercosur summits have become a display of empty rhetoric, full of protocol and ‘family photos’ but with no full hearted willingness to achieve a solid, fair integration, claimed the head of the Paraguayan delegation before Parlasur, the Mercosur Parliament.

• Saturday, June 25th 2011 - 08:00 UTC

  Canada interested in closer links with Mercosur announces ‘exploratory talks’

  

  Canada and Mercosur agreed on Friday to hold exploratory talks to strengthen their relationship, Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast said on Friday. Fast is currently in Asunción to promote bilateral trade and investments, and Paraguay currently holds the Mercosur chair.

• Friday, June 24th 2011 - 21:50 UTC

  Mercosur summit in Paraguay; Uruguay takes the chair for the next 6 months

  

  Presidents from Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador have confirmed they will be attending the Mercosur summit in Paraguay next June 28/29, when the rotating chair of the group for the next six months will pass on to Uruguay.

• Friday, June 24th 2011 - 19:08 UTC

  Argentina’s trade surplus in May rose 29%; imports soared 39%

  

  Argentina's trade surplus in May rose 29% from the previous month, thanks to high prices for the country's exports of grains and manufactured goods, the national statistics agency said Thursday.

• Friday, June 24th 2011 - 02:17 UTC

  To contain inflation Uruguay raises benchmark rate 50 points to 8%

  

  As anticipated, Uruguay's central bank raised its benchmark lending rate 50 basis points to 8% on Thursday in an effort to keep inflation within its target range. Uruguay’s consumer price index rose 8.53% in the 12 months through May, far above the official target range of between 4% and 6% set for the 12 months ending June 2012.

• Thursday, June 23rd 2011 - 22:28 UTC

  Paraguay’s economy expands 4.6% in first quarter; down 0.7% from previous quarter

  

  Mercosur full member Paraguay’s economy expanded 4.6% in the first quarter of 2011 compared to a year ago boosted by agriculture in spite of a slowdown in cattle farming and construction, according to the country’s Central bank latest report.

• Thursday, June 23rd 2011 - 21:31 UTC

  Brazilian president ‘votes’ for Cristina Fernandez and anticipates re-election

  

  Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff said she is convinced of her Argentine peer Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner re-election victory next October 23. Argentina is Brazil’s main associate in Mercosur and third trade partner.

• Tuesday, June 14th 2011 - 22:39 UTC

  Humala reaffirms historic links: “Peru will always support Argentina”

  

  President-elect Ollanta Humala said Peru has shown “it will always support Argentina” and underlined the long standing close relations with the country that hosts one of the largest Peruvian communities overseas.

• Tuesday, June 14th 2011 - 21:07 UTC

  Volcanic ash cloud forces the re-programming of Mercosur technical meeting

  

  The 83rd ordinary meeting of the Common Market Group in the framework of Mercosur and which was scheduled for this week has been re-programmed for June 16 and 17, because of the volcanic ash cloud that has disrupted normal air traffic.

• Tuesday, June 14th 2011 - 20:47 UTC

  EU/Mercosur trade talks are frozen on the “edge of the cliff”

  

  Trade talks between Mercosur and the European Union have been frozen on the “edge of the cliff” because of the European debt crisis, differences over agriculture subsidies and other crucial issues according to sources in Brazil from both sides.