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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, April 26th 2025 - 04:59 UTC

Mercosur

  • Friday, July 20th 2018 - 10:32 UTC

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

    “We have achieved a sort of critical mass that will enable us to go to the closing game,” Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie told reporters

    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

    In a letter, the head of industrial lobby BusinessEurope Pierre Gattaz urged EC president Jean-Claude Juncker to seal a deal before the Brazilian election campaign

    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

    Nin Novoa fears negotiations with EU could temporarily “breakdown”, although he anticipated he was committed to avoid such a situation.

    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.

  • Thursday, June 7th 2018 - 23:10 UTC

    The Uruguayan Foreign Ministry describes the number of immigrants arriving in the country as “never seen before”

    “The Secretariat of the Refugee Commission is completely overwhelmed,” said the Minister of Human Rights, while “acts of discrimination and xenophobia in Uruguay” are emerging.

    Immigration to Uruguay, Argentina and Chile has exploded exponentially in recent years. It is receiving an “unprecedented” daily requests for refuge in the southern country, according to the Director of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law of the Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dianela Pi, who explained to MercoPress that “There are acts of discrimination and xenophobia that are emerging in Uruguay as never before” as a result of the migratory phenomenon. This wave comes mostly from citizens of Venezuelan origin.

  • Monday, June 4th 2018 - 07:45 UTC

    Mercosur/EU begin new fresh round of trade talks: Geographical Indications high in the list

    EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said she hoped for progress on difficult issues this week, but cautioned that further talks would be required.

    Mercosur and the European Union begin a fresh round of trade talks this week with renewed optimism that negotiators may be nearing an accord after almost 20 years of talks. Since trade negotiations with the United States were frozen after Donald Trump's 2016 presidential election victory, the European Union has turned its focus to other large economies and has already struck agreements with Japan and Mexico.

  • Saturday, May 26th 2018 - 07:58 UTC

    South Korea and Mercosur agree in Seoul to begin formal negotiations for a free trade deal

    “This represents a significant step toward deepening the important relationship between Mercosur and the Republic of Korea,” the joint statement said

    South Korea and Mercosur agreed to begin formal negotiations for a trade deal in the latter half of this year to facilitate commerce and investment, the Seoul government said on Friday. South Korea signed an agreement to launch the negotiations with four Mercosur member states -- Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay -- during a ceremony held in Seoul. Mercosur expelled Venezuela in 2016 for failing to meet its basic standards.

  • Tuesday, May 22nd 2018 - 06:32 UTC

    Mercosur and Japan scheduled to begin trade talks next November in Argentina

    The Group of 20 leaders' summit in Argentina in November “would be a good opportunity” to kick off negotiations on an economic accord, said minister Nunes

    Mercosur trade bloc looks to begin economic and trade talks with Japan as soon as November, Brazil's foreign minister said, calling trade with Asia essential to regional economic health as the U.S. embraces protectionism.

  • Monday, April 30th 2018 - 09:04 UTC

    Last round of EU/Mercosur “useful”, but key issues remain to be resolved

    Talks ended earlier than expected, with Argentina and Uruguay leaving the table due to what they saw as a lack of decisiveness from Brazil and the EU.

    The European Union and Mercosur have made some progress on how to open their markets to cars, but ended free trade talks in Brussels on Friday with finger-pointing about who was holding up a deal. The EU and the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay began on-off negotiations towards a trade alliance in 1999, with a fresh impetus since 2016.

  • Sunday, April 29th 2018 - 05:22 UTC

    Argentina increases basic rate 300 points to 30.25% to combat inflation

    “The decision was made with the aim of guaranteeing the disinflation process and the central bank is ready to act again if necessary,” the bank's statement said.

    Argentina's central bank surprised markets at the end of the week by jolting its key interest rate up to 30.25% from 27.25%, citing weakness of the local peso against the US dollar and vowing to act again if high inflation persists.

  • Friday, April 27th 2018 - 10:47 UTC

    Mujica supports the FTA with Chile: Piñera begins his commercial tour avoiding Uruguay

    Mujica said that before “a weakened Mercosur”, Uruguay has to look for alternative incentives to improve trade stability.

    While Chilean President Sebastián Piñera started a commercial tour in Brazil last Thursday, in which he avoids Uruguay because the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Chile is blocked in the Uruguayan Parliament since 2016, ex-president José Mujica explained that he supports the FTA with Chile in order to look for “the best incentives to ensure commercial stability.” The bench of former president Mujica and the communist party refuse to approve the commercial agreement.