Spain is set to hold an early general election on July 23, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Monday. The announcement comes after Sanchez Socialist Party suffered serious setbacks to the conservative opposition in regional elections held on Sunday.
Regarding the European Union-Mercosur trade deal, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva insisted that his government's purchases were non-negotiable and promised not to give in because it would entail killing ”the possibility of growth of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). The Workers' Party leader also admitted that discrepancies on this point might delay the agreement a little longer.”
Paraguay remained the Latin American country with the highest projected growth for the year 2023, according to a Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) study that also showed that the region has hit its poorest business climate in the last nine months, it was reported. Argentina is at the bottom of the list.
Argentina's Ambassador to Brazil Daniel Scioli and Communications Minister Juscelino Filho Tuesday agreed to advance towards the suppression of roaming between both countries in a new step of the Mercosur integration process heralded by Presidents Alberto Ferenández and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, it was reported in Buenos Aires.
The group of countries that make up the Paraguay-Parana Waterway Agreement Committee suggested Argentina refrained from adopting measures that violate the agreed rules and stop charging tolls to barges passing through Santa Fe. The committee is made up of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The Brazilian Government of President Luiz Inàcio Lula Da Silva Thursday asked the US Treasury Department to exert some pressure on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) -of which the US is the largest shareholder- to help Argentina overcome the current crisis caused by the drought while still bound by commitments signed with the world entity, which are holding back the economic development of the South American country.
Brazil is leading efforts to increase its own and Mercosur interests in closer trade and investment relations with Canada. This week the Brazilian Foreign Trade Secretary from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, MDIC, Tatiana Prazeres received the Canadian ambassador in Brasilia, Emmanuel Kamarianakis and special representatives, with the purpose of strengthening trade relations between both countries and the regional block Mercosur.
Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira Thursday said during an appearance before his country's Senatorial Foreign Relations Committee that the European Union's (EU) new environmental requirements for the Mercosur-EU agreement could cause enormous damage to the South American bloc.
Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou said his country has a problem with prices in Argentine being so low due to a favorable exchange rate that people cross the border to do their shopping.
Argentina's Economy Minister Sergio Massa will travel to Brazil alongside President Alberto Fernández to find credit alternatives through which to spend fewer dollars in bilateral trade, it was reported.