Mercosur

• Wednesday, March 31st 2010 - 02:30 UTC

  Mercosur is Uruguay’s main market for value-added exports, says Mujica

  

  Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica admitted Mercosur has its problems but it is also the market for Uruguayan exports with most added value: “to the rest of the world we sell mostly commodities, to Mercosur Uruguayan input”.

• Monday, March 29th 2010 - 04:16 UTC

  Mujica meets Lula da Silva to consider bilateral and regional integration

  

  Increasing trade, bilateral and regional integration dominate Monday’s agenda for the meeting in Brasilia between President Lula da Silva and Uruguayan leader Jose Mujica.

• Friday, March 26th 2010 - 04:18 UTC

  Brazil/Argentina hold new round of talks to facilitate bilateral trade

  

  Mercosur main country members, Argentina and Brazil begun on Thursday a two-day round of bilateral trade talks in Brazil to discuss basically whether to continue or not with the non-automatic licenses both countries hold.

• Thursday, March 25th 2010 - 03:18 UTC

  Mercosur-Israel free trade agreement becomes effective

  

  The free trade agreement between Mercosur and Israel, the first out of the region for the South American block, became effective this week for Paraguay. For the rest of Mercosur full members, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay the official date is April first.

• Thursday, March 25th 2010 - 02:59 UTC

  Mercosur expects a next move from EU to advance trade discussions

  

  Mercosur expects the European Union to improve its offer so that both sides can advance towards a free trade agreement, according to Brazil and Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs ministers Celso Amorim and Luis Almagro who met in Rio do Janeiro this week.

• Wednesday, March 17th 2010 - 00:43 UTC

  Uruguay enjoys record crops but 2010 prospects not so clear

  

  Uruguay expects for this year a record export of grains and oilseeds, however prospects for the rest of the year are not too clear given abundant crops worldwide which will have an impact on prices.

• Tuesday, March 16th 2010 - 05:06 UTC

  Mercosur/Israel free trade agreement becomes effective April

  

  Brazil expects a new free trade agreement with Israel to swell bilateral trade to more than 3 billion US dollars within five years, officials said on Monday. Trade between Israel and Brazil slipped below 1 billion USD in 2009 from a peak of 1.6 billion USD in 2008 -- 1.2 billion USD of which were Israeli exports -- due to the global economic crisis.

• Thursday, March 4th 2010 - 21:24 UTC

  US and Brazil agree Venezuela “should be looking more to the south”

  

  The United States and Brazil agreed that Venezuela should be “looking more to the south”, to “successful models of country”, according to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and that is why “we have invited Venezuela to join Mercosur”, pointed out Brazilian Foreign Secretary Celso Amorim.

• Monday, March 1st 2010 - 05:24 UTC

  If Mercosur is failing, “we are doing something wrong”, said Mujica

  

  Uruguay’s president elect Jose Mujica who takes office Monday March first admitted that Mercosur is “failing” because “we are doing something wrong”, but was enthusiastic about Latinamerican integration and praised Argentina, a country where “Uruguayans are not foreigners”.

• Wednesday, February 24th 2010 - 06:49 UTC

  Venezuela facilitates travel to Mercosur and associate members’ citizens

  

  Citizens from Mercosur full members and some associate countries will be allowed to travel to Venezuela with no need of a passport, simply with their national ID, as of next Thursday announced Venezuela’s Identification and Foreigners office.