Mercosur

• Tuesday, December 7th 2010 - 20:26 UTC

  Paraguay will not attend Mercosur summit if Argentina doesn’t lift fluvial blockade

  

  Landlocked Paraguay has called on Argentina to put an end to the blockade of Paraguayan maritime agencies which has virtually cut the country’s foreign trade. Paraguayan Foreign Affairs minister Hector Lacognata also revealed that if the month-long issue is not solved in the next few days, “Paraguay will be absent from the coming Mercosur summit December 15”.

• Tuesday, December 7th 2010 - 08:06 UTC

  Mercosur and Syria scheduled to begin trade negotiations at next summit

  

  Mercosur and Syria are scheduled to sign an agreement to begin trade negotiations at the group’s next summit in Brazil, December 15, according to official sources in Damascus. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad earlier this year visited South America to promote trade and political links, particularly with Brazil that has a large Syrian community.

• Sunday, December 5th 2010 - 23:35 UTC

  Paraguayan leader calls Senate to vote Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur

  

  President Fernando Lugo called on the Paraguayan political establishment “not to identify Venezuela with President Hugo Chavez” and reiterated support from lawmakers to vote for the incorporation of Venezuela as a full member of Mercosur.

• Friday, December 3rd 2010 - 06:29 UTC

  Uruguay headed for a record year in exports; Brazil main trade partner

  

  Uruguay’s exports jumped 23.3% during the first eleven months of 2010, anticipating a new value record for the year. Exports totalled 6.1 billion US dollars between January-November compared to 4.95 billion in the same period a year earlier and are higher than the twelve month previous record of 6.1 billion in 2008, according to Uruguay’s Exporters’ Union.

• Thursday, December 2nd 2010 - 00:07 UTC

  Mercosur: Paraguay Senate has been convinced and will vote for Venezuela

  

  The Paraguayan Senate is expected to finally vote for the incorporation of Venezuela as Mercosur full member next week following intense political negotiations. Paraguay’s vote is decisive to complete the Venezuelan membership process since lawmakers of the other Mercosur countries Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil have already approved the incorporation.

• Tuesday, November 30th 2010 - 20:18 UTC

  Political deal in Paraguay to vote for Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur

  

  Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur as full member seems closer as the Paraguayan Senate readies to consider the issue following on political agreements worked out by President Fernando Lugo.

• Friday, November 26th 2010 - 02:22 UTC

  Paraguay readies vote on Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur as full member

  

  The Paraguayan Executive sent this week to congress a bill requesting the incorporation of Venezuela to Mercosur. Paraguay’s legislative confirmation is the last step to complete the long process, begun in 2006, for Venezuela to become a full member of the South American block currently made up of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.

• Tuesday, November 23rd 2010 - 22:59 UTC

  The challenge of “breaking mental barriers” to promote Mercosur and Unasur

  

  Brazil’s influential Foreign Affairs minister Celso Amorim revealed that his major obstacle in his eight years in the post was “breaking mental barriers” particularly in advancing relations among countries in the South and promoting such organizations as Mercosur and Unasur.

• Tuesday, November 23rd 2010 - 04:30 UTC

  Rio Grande in south Brazil geared to become “Mercosur hub and main port”

  

  Rio Grande in the south of Brazil has rapidly become the main competitor of the port of Montevideo based on a sustained expansion, deep dredging, the construction of new piers and update equipment.

• Monday, November 22nd 2010 - 04:11 UTC

  EU/Mercosur trade agreement still far away, say Spanish analysts

  

  The European Union Mercosur trade agreement is still far from becoming a reality and the coming Ibero-American summit in Mar del Plata early December is not expected to signal any significant achievement in this field, according to Spanish political analysts who anticipate some advances towards the end of next year.