Argentine authorities have confirmed the detection of nine more cases of the coronavirus Delta variant, the Health Ministry announced Monday through a statement.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) raised its average growth estimate for the region in 2021 to 5.2%, reflecting a rebound from the deep contraction of 6.8% registered in 2020 as a consequence of the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mercosur trade block, now under the chair of Brazil for the next six months, will be facing one of its most significant potential disruption challenges after the virtual summit with the presidents of the four founding members openly exposing their differences, despite a limited coverage of the event.
On the eve of Thursday's Mercosur summit, Uruguay informed its partners that it will proceed with negotiations, expecting to reach trade agreements with third parties or blocks, outside of the four founding members group.
Argentina's Migrations Director Florencia Carignano Monday said reopening borders with neighbouring countries was under consideration for when vaccination has reached a larger number of people.
Uruguay's yearly Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 7.33% as per data released Monday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), slightly above the government's target.
The production of motor vehicles in Argentina in June grew 14.5% compared to May's output for a total of 40,035 units, which made up for a 155.7% YoY increase against 2020 figures, it was reported Monday by the Association of Automotive Factories (Adefa).
The Brazilian Confederation of Industry, CNI and the IndustriALL-Brasil (which represents industry unions) have officially requested that in the next Mercosur meeting, scheduled for early this month, Brazilian representatives withdraw the proposal for a reduction of block trade tariffs with other countries. However, both institutions also backed the current flexibilization of current trade talks with third countries, such as South Korea.
Economic activity in Argentina fell 1.2% monthly in April and accumulated three months of decline, according to data released Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC).
The Government of Argentina has decided to up its restriction on inbound travelers as of Saturday, in a move to prevent further cases of the SARS-Cov-2 Delta variant from entering the country.