Mercosur

• Friday, February 20th 2026 - 12:13 UTC

  Uruguay foreign minister Lubetkin grilled over Venezuela, China–Taiwan wording and US visas

  

  Uruguay’s foreign minister Mario Lubetkin appeared before Parliament’s Permanent Commission after an opposition-led interpellation focused on the government’s stance on Venezuela, a Taiwan-related line included in a joint statement with China, and the lack of clarity over US immigration-visa restrictions affecting Uruguay.

• Thursday, February 19th 2026 - 04:04 UTC

  Mercosur–EU deal: Uruguay’s PIT-CNT urges sector impact studies for an “informed” Senate debate

  

  Uruguay’s PIT-CNT labour federation warned lawmakers that the debate on the Mercosur–European Union trade deal is moving forward without adequate sector-by-sector assessments, which it said “limits the possibility of an informed debate” on potential effects on industry, jobs and the country’s productive structure. The union confederation testified on Wednesday before a special Senate committee reviewing the agreement, alongside the Chamber of Industry (CIU) and the Rice Growers Association (ACA), ahead of a vote expected on Wednesday 25.

• Monday, February 16th 2026 - 06:13 UTC

  Argentina–Uruguay river commission faces tensions over funding and infrastructure disputes

  

  A string of disagreements between Uruguay’s and Argentina’s delegations at the Administrative Commission of the Uruguay River (CARU) has heightened internal friction at the binational body in recent weeks, amid clashes involving infrastructure proposals, absences from official events and public allegations over the handling of funds and allowances.

• Friday, February 13th 2026 - 04:09 UTC

  Argentina moves first in Mercosur as lower house backs EU trade deal

  

  Argentina became the first Mercosur country to secure an initial legislative green light for the trade agreement with the European Union, after the Chamber of Deputies approved the text late on Thursday. The bloc also includes Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, which have launched their own domestic ratification processes.

• Thursday, February 12th 2026 - 09:09 UTC

  Hundreds of tractors roll into Madrid as farmers protest CAP cuts and EU-Mercosur accord

  

  Thousands of farmers and ranchers, alongside hundreds of tractors, rallied in central Madrid on Wednesday to protest expected cuts in the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and to denounce the European Union’s trade agreement with Mercosur, according to organisers and authorities.

• Tuesday, February 3rd 2026 - 12:53 UTC

  Orsi, Xi Jinping sign cooperation deals in Beijing as Uruguay backs “one China” and trade talks with Mercosur are floated

  

  China’s President Xi Jinping met Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi in Beijing on Tuesday, a visit framed by both sides as a bid to deepen political alignment and broaden economic ties at a moment of heightened geopolitical competition.

• Friday, January 23rd 2026 - 19:19 UTC

  EU ‘ready’ to roll out Mercosur deal once South American ratifications start, von der Leyen says

  

  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union is prepared to provisionally implement the EU–Mercosur trade agreement as soon as Mercosur countries begin completing their ratification procedures, seeking to reassure partners after a European Parliament vote injected fresh uncertainty into the bloc’s approval track.

• Wednesday, January 21st 2026 - 21:26 UTC

  European Parliament puts EU-Mercosur trade deal on hold, seeks top court legal opinion

  

  The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to freeze its approval track for the EU-Mercosur trade agreement and request a legal opinion from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on whether the deal is compatible with EU treaties. The motion passed by a razor-thin margin —334 in favour, 324 against, with 11 abstentions— injecting new uncertainty into a pact that the two blocs had only just signed in Asunción after a quarter-century of negotiations.

• Monday, January 19th 2026 - 11:01 UTC

  Orsi on Lula’s absence at EU-Mercosur signing: “Any absence does not leave a good impression”

  

  Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi expressed disapproval over the absence of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the signing of the landmark free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Mercosur bloc, held in Asunción on January 17.

• Monday, January 19th 2026 - 10:57 UTC

  EU-Mercosur trade deal could turn South America into a critical minerals powerhouse

  

  The free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and the Mercosur bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) could help turn South America into a major player in the global market for critical minerals and rare earths, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said in an interview with EFE from Asunción.