Mercosur

• Tuesday, August 15th 2023 - 10:15 UTC

  Paraguay’s new President wants change at home and abroad

  

  By Julieta Heduvan (*) – Santiago Peña assumes Paraguay’s presidency this Tuesday August 15 with a number of advantages, including a supportive Congress. But he faces also numerous challenges, as he tries to unite his party, manage the influence of his political mentor—businessman and former President Horacio Cartes—and handle international negotiations, from the Itaipú accord to U.S. sanctions against Paraguayan politicians.

• Friday, August 11th 2023 - 11:48 UTC

  “EU approach on trade accord with Mercosur is simply unacceptable,” Paraguayan President elect Peña

  

  Paraguay President-elect Santiago Peña has said that Mercosur and the European Union should put on hold talks over a free trade agreement since the current environmental demands from the EU are “unacceptable.”

• Thursday, August 10th 2023 - 10:49 UTC

  Uruguayan orange producers said to be retaining cheap Argentine labor

  

  Agricultural producers in the Salto area have been reported to hire Argentine labor from Concordia just across the border and pay them three times less than they would local workers, Uruguay's National Union of Salaried, Rural, and Related Workers (Unión Nacional de Asalariados, Trabajadores Rurales y Afines - Unatra) denounced.

• Wednesday, August 9th 2023 - 10:26 UTC

  Brazil questions Argentina charging tolls on Paraná Waterway

  

  Brazil's Foreign Ministry Tuesday said Argentina charging tolls since the beginning of the year to barges sailing along the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway had affected other countries in the region and questioned the legality of the one-sided measure, Agência Brasil reported.

• Monday, August 7th 2023 - 10:07 UTC

  Turmoil in global rice market as India, Thailand and Vietnam limit exports

  

  Mercosur country members have been receiving requests for supplies of rice as the cereal price has seen a sharp surge in recent months as major Asian producers curtail their trade and supplies. This could impact millions of consumers around the world, with Asian and African countries expected to bear the brunt.

• Saturday, August 5th 2023 - 10:50 UTC

  Singapore interested in sealing trade accord with Mercosur and in the Port of Santos concession

  

  The government of city-state Singapore, in Southeast Asia, intends to participate in the concession process for Brazil's largest terminal, the Port of Santos (SP), as part of the greater trade negotiation with the Mercosur block.

• Tuesday, August 1st 2023 - 12:19 UTC

  Brazil dominates increasing share of China's soybean market

  

  The world’s soybean market is dominated by one major buyer: China, and for years, Mercosur's leading member Brazil has taken an increasingly bigger share of that trade away from the US. So much so that Brazilian shippers are even starting to dominate during the typical season lull.

• Tuesday, August 1st 2023 - 10:16 UTC

  Brazilian traders want federal gov't involved in Paraná River Waterway toll dispute

  

  The Brazilian Association for the Development of Inland Navigation (Abani) requested the Brazilian Foreign Ministry takes steps after the Argentine decision to seize a vessel of a Brazilian company in Greater Rosario due to debts in the payment of tolls for using the Paraná River waterway, it was reported.

• Wednesday, July 26th 2023 - 20:16 UTC

  Spain summons Uruguayan ambassador over criticism of PSOE by interim vice-president

  

  The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned Uruguay's Ambassador to Madrid, Ana Teresa Ayala, in response to controversial statements made by acting Vice President of the Uruguayan government, Graciela Bianchi, concerning Spain's Socialist Party (PSOE) in the wake of the recent Spanish general elections.

• Tuesday, July 25th 2023 - 10:54 UTC

  Solution wanted at Mercosur level: mobility platforms need local HQs

  

  According to Paraguay's Juan Marcelo Estigarribia, Executive Secretary of the South American country's Consumer and User Defense Secretariat (Sedeco), a Mercosur Technical Committee has received a complaint from his agency about the lack of representation of mobility platforms such as Uber and Bolt.