Ireland dairy industry has praised the German Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner who has said she is not going to push forward efforts to seal the Mercosur Trade agreement and underlined she had serious concerns over the deal.
Brazil hit back Tuesday at European reluctance to finalize a trade deal between the EU and Mercosur blocs over concerns about Amazon deforestation, saying a French report on the issue was motivated by “protectionist interests.”
The European Union expects a clear commitment from Mercosur countries, particularly Brazil, that it will respect the sustainability issues included in the EU/Mercosur trade agreement, before any deal is ratified.
The display of a stand promoting the disputed “Islas Malvinas” as a British dependency, at the UK pavilion in a Uruguayan agriculture and productions show, was rejected by the Argentine government.
Argentina has asked for an explanation from Paraguay about the deaths in a police and military operation against a terrorist group of two 11-year-old girls it said were Argentine citizens.
Brazil expressed its disenchantment with the Argentine policy of delaying the approval of the so-called nonautomatic import licenses which has seen millions of dollars in sales held at the border. This situation has been increasing in recent months, in what is considered a breach of bilateral accords in the framework of Mercosur agreements, and the World Trade Organization, WTO, rules.
After Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel stated on Friday “considerable doubts” over whether to keep backing the European Union’s (EU) trade deal with the Mercosur due to environmental threats that represent the deforestation in Brazil’s Amazonia, the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) responded defending the agreement that was reached last year.
An estimate by Brazil´s Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) points out that the conclusion of a free trade agreement between Mercosur and Canada has the potential to increase Brazilian export revenues of agricultural products by US$7.8 billion.
After a ten-year hiatus, the South African Department of Agriculture announced the opening of the market for Paraguayan abattoirs to export beef and meat products. According to the Paraguayan foreign ministry, the reopening of this market by the African country was possible through joint work with the Animal Health and Quality Service (Senacsa).
Due to the Paraná river drought, which affected Argentina’s soy oil-exporting capacity, Cattalini Terminais Marítimos, which handles almost 70% of Brazil’s soy oil exports through its facilities in the port of Paranaguá, predicts a 25% increase in shipments this year.