Mercosur

• Monday, August 27th 2018 - 06:58 UTC

  Auto industry, beef and sugar, remain hurdles for a Mercosur/EU deal

  

  Negotiators of a free trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur want to wrap up by September, but differences over beef, sugar and the auto industry could dash those hopes, Brazilian foreign minister Aloysio Nunes said. Issues over intellectual property, rules of origin and marine shipping services also need to be nailed down, Nunes said in an interview.

• Thursday, August 16th 2018 - 22:42 UTC

  Brazil corn production next season could reach a first time 100m tons

  

  Brazilian farmers are expected to plant a record amount of soybean acres this coming season, encouraged by strong demand from China, and yield a record harvest next year, consultancy Céleres said in its first forecast for the new cycle. The next crop cycle in Brazil, the world's No. 1 soybean exporter, begins in September.

• Thursday, August 16th 2018 - 22:12 UTC

  Mercosur reliance on China and industrial protectionism, challenges for a deal with EU

  

  Mercosur excessive reliance on exports to China and industrial protectionism in chemicals are core stumbling blocks to reaching a free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU, a policy paper published by the 28-country bloc released on Monday.

• Sunday, August 5th 2018 - 11:35 UTC

  Despite jail sentence, Lula nominated candidate for October's presidential election

  

  Brazil's leftist Workers' Party nominated its charismatic founder Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for the upcoming presidential contest on Saturday despite him being imprisoned for corruption. In a message from Lula read to the party convention in Sao Paulo, he said, “Brazil needs to restore its democracy.” Although serving a 12-year sentence for corruption, Lula, 72, remains by far the frontrunner in opinion polls.

• Thursday, July 26th 2018 - 19:47 UTC

  Falklands chooses Latam as preferred operator for a second flight

  

  The Chilean/Brazilian Latam airline has been chosen by the Falkland Islands Government as the preferred operator to provide a second commercial flight between the Falkland Islands and South America. The official announcement was made on Thursday, 26 July.

• Tuesday, July 24th 2018 - 21:27 UTC

  Singapore and Mercosur confirm negotiations for a free trade agreement

  

  Mercosur and Singapore have started negotiations for a free trade agreement, officials from both sides announced on Monday on the sidelines of the 13th Pacific Alliance Summit held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

• Tuesday, July 24th 2018 - 02:41 UTC

  G20 begin talks on global rules to tax the digital economy

  

  European finance leaders called for progress on global rules to tax the digital economy at a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers in Argentina on Sunday, putting them at odds with U.S. counterparts.

• Friday, July 20th 2018 - 10:32 UTC

  EU/Mercosur trade deal has a new timetable: September in Montevideo

  

  A free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur is close to being concluded, with a final push over the line seen by early September, Argentina’s foreign minister said on Thursday. Negotiations between the EU and the Mercosur group of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, the world’s fourth largest trading bloc, have been going on for almost 20 years.

• Wednesday, July 18th 2018 - 09:06 UTC

  European business lobby urges Brussels to accelerate trade talks with Mercosur

  

  European companies are urging the European Union to accelerate trade negotiations with Mercosur bloc, in a sign of concern that the 20-year talks could once again fall dormant if they do not reach an accord this week.

• Monday, June 18th 2018 - 11:14 UTC

  Uruguay chair of Mercosur, targets accord with China, exhausted of negotiations with the EU

  

  Uruguay will be handed the rotating chair of Mercosur this Monday in a brief summit ceremony to take place in Paraguay. Attending will be Brazil's Michel Temer, Uruguay's Tabare Vázquez, the host Paraguay Horacio Cartes and in representation of Argentina, vice president Gabriela Michetti. President Mauricio Macri is in the midst of a cabinet reshuffle and waiting for market reaction this Monday following the naming of a new Central Bank chairman.