Mercosur

• Friday, October 22nd 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Mercosur-EU to resume talks first quarter of 2005.

  Mercosur and the European Union finally were unable to reach the free trade agreement self imposed timetable of October 31, but decided to keep talking when the new officials of the European Commission take their posts.

• Thursday, October 21st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina unbending with hake conservation.

  Argentine Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Secretariat (SAGPyA) Miguel Campos will be announcing an additional distribution of 16,500 tonnes of common hake (Merluccius hubbsi) for this season among Argentine vessels.

• Thursday, October 21st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Brazil Central Bank raises basic rate to 16,75% .

  Brazil's Central Bank raised this Wednesday the basic SELIC interest rate half a point from 16,15 to 16,75% with the purpose of lowering inflation expectations given the strong domestic demand and surging international oil prices.

• Thursday, October 21st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Bio-alcohol fuel for fumigation aircraft.

  Embraer the giant Brazilian aircraft manufacturer officially presented this week a prototype of a agriculture fumigation aircraft, “Ipanema” that runs on bio-alcohol.

• Thursday, October 21st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Three candidates for WTO chair.

  The next Director General of the World Trade Organization will be nominated at the latest next May 31, revealed WTO General Council president Shotaro Oshima from Japan.

• Thursday, October 21st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Emerging China “interferes” with EU-Mercosur talks.

  European Trade Commissar Pascal Lamy admitted that the emerging attraction of China for Mercosur exports is showing a “misbalancing effect” on the South American block “political equilibriums” when it comes to negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union.

• Thursday, October 21st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Argentina growing at an annual 9%

  Economic activity in Argentina expanded 8,8% last August over the same month in 2003, and 8,6% during the first eight months of the current year according to a release from the Argentina National Statistics and Census Office, INDEC.

• Thursday, October 21st 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Chile and Uruguay the least corrupt in Latinamerica.

  Chile and Uruguay figure among the least corrupt countries in Latinamerica according to the latest report from the International Transparency Corruption Perceptions Index for 2004 which was released this week in Berlin.

• Wednesday, October 20th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  Uruguay and Brazil clash over WTO candidates.

  Brazil and Uruguay could not agree on a Mercosur consensus candidate for the World Trade Organization Director General post, but coincided that “we still have time until December”.

• Wednesday, October 20th 2004 - 21:00 UTC

  EU-Mercosur resume trade talks in Lisbon.

  The European Union and Mercosur will resume this Wednesday in Lisbon, Portugal, stalled trade negotiations and decide whether the association agreement can be reached before November 1 when a new team of European Commission commissars takes over in Brussels.