The South American four-nation trade bloc Mercosur began a tense meeting on Wednesday reeling from US steel and aluminium tariffs and a spat between its two biggest members. Foreign ministers of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay opened the two-day meeting in the southern Brazilian town of Bento Goncalves, paving the way for a head of state summit on Thursday.
Mercosur faces a tense future, the president-elect of Uruguay said on Monday, referring to a diplomatic spat between regional heavyweight economies Brazil and Argentina. Brazil’s right-wing leader Jair Bolsonaro and Argentina’s incoming leader, left-leaning Peronist Alberto Fernandez, have sparred openly.
Argentine elected president Alberto Fernandez on Sunday called for ex-president Lula da Silva to be freed from prison, which most certainly puts him on a collision course with Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro said late Sunday upon departing from Abu Dhabi after a two-day state visit that if the policies of Argentina's next president affect Mercosur's agreement with the European Union (EU), a solution may be to remove the southern neighbours from the bloc.
A possible victory of opposition candidate Alberto Fernández in Argentina's presidential election on Sunday could put the Mercosur trade bloc at risk, Brazil's right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, said on Wednesday.
Mercosur aims to conclude free trade agreements Singapore and South Korea by next year, as it also eyes deals with several other Asian countries, a Brazilian diplomat said on Tuesday.
The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has entered a new phase of weak economic performance, but increased integration in international trade and global value chains could reinvigorate economic growth.
On Sunday 27 October the Uruguayan electorate will be voting for a new president (there is no immediate reelection) and a renewed Legislative, 30 Senators and 99 Lower House members. Uruguay is one of the more stable countries in the region, both it's solid institutions as well as its citizens who are deeply committed to democracy, social rights and a strong presence of government in the economy.
South Korea’s trade ministry said on Monday it plans to hold the fourth round of trade talks with Mercosur as Seoul aims to expand its trade network with emerging countries and revitalize its ailing exports.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri defended the trade agreement of Mercosur with the European Union, as part of his government's strategy to open Argentina to the world, demanded Iran cooperates with the judicial system to help clear the 1994 AMIA attack in Buenos Aires, condemned the Venezuelan dictatorship of president Nicolas Maduro and called on the United Kingdom for dialogue on the Falklands/Malvinas dispute, although reaffirming his country's “legitimate and imprescriptible sovereignty rights” over the South Atlantic Islands.