Pacific Alliance

• Wednesday, April 19th 2017 - 04:13 UTC

  Macri confident a Mercosur/European Union trade accord can be expected in the second half of 2017

  

  Argentine president Mauricio Macri is convinced that in the second half of the year Mercosur will sign the long awaited trade agreement with the European Union and will establish closer links with the Pacific Alliance, according to a report in one of Buenos Aires leading radios.

• Friday, April 7th 2017 - 10:39 UTC

  Mercosur and Pacific Alliance summit will address potential convergence and Trump's protectionism

  

  Mercosur and Pacific Alliance foreign ministers are scheduled to meet this Friday in Buenos Aires, on an Argentine initiative to advance in a possible political and trade confluence with the prospect of a regional alliance in the near future. The controversial Venezuela case will also be on the table, but attendants have anticipated that they won't let this issue dominate the agenda or cast a shadow on the purpose of the summit.

• Wednesday, March 15th 2017 - 06:38 UTC

  Mercosur expects to sign a trade deal with the EU by year end taking advantage of Trump's isolationism

  

  Mercosur expects to sign a framework accord this year for a trade deal with the European Union as the U.S. shift to isolationism under President Donald Trump encourages it to look outside the hemisphere for opportunities, Brazil's foreign minister Aloysio Nunes said on Tuesday.

• Friday, March 3rd 2017 - 11:48 UTC

  New Brazilian foreign minister no fan of Trump, but sponsors free trade, Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance

  

  Brazil's president has picked as his new foreign minister a man who has sharply criticized U.S. President Donald Trump. President Michel Temer named Sen. Aloysio Nunes to the post Thursday to replace Jose Serra. Serra resigned last week for medical reasons. The appointment doesn't require congressional approval. Both Nunes and Serra belong to the center PSDB party, senior member of the ruling coalition.

• Saturday, February 11th 2017 - 07:36 UTC

  Mercosur meeting in March to address internal tariffs and Mexico

  

  Mercosur foreign ministers will be meeting next March 9 in Buenos Aires in the framework of Argentina's pro tempore chair and following on the Argentine/Brazilian presidents recent meeting when it was decided to give the group a new thrust taking advantage of the new world scenario.

• Tuesday, December 20th 2016 - 08:19 UTC

  Macri and Bachelet agree on a Mercosur-Pacific Alliance meeting in first half of 2017

  

  Argentina and Chile agreed to organize a major Mercosur, Pacific Alliance trade blocks' meeting during the first half of 2017. Last Friday Chilean president Michelle Bachelet and her cabinet were in Buenos Aires with peers Mauricio Macri and ministers as part of an agenda of regular meetings to address a joint agenda.

• Wednesday, August 24th 2016 - 07:11 UTC

  Mercosur coordinators' address domestic and international agendas, despite admitting “emergency situation”

  

  Mercosur founding countries national coordinators met on Tuesday in Montevideo and admitted that the block is going through an “emergency situation” because of the presidential acephaly, but agreed on proposals to overcome the challenge and in a “business as usual” spirit, are readying for a meeting with the EU on trade negotiations and on the Action Plan to advance closer links with the Pacific Alliance.

• Thursday, August 18th 2016 - 06:04 UTC

  Macri after full integration of Mercosur with the Pacific Alliance

  

  Latin America needs greater economic integration and a merger of Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance should be the objective, according to Argentine president Mauricio Macri, who insists in loosening trade restrictions in his country and the region.

• Thursday, August 11th 2016 - 06:14 UTC

  Pacific Alliance members invite Uruguay to sign free trade agreements

  

  Uruguay, a founding member of Mercosur has been invited by Pacific Alliance members Colombia and Peru to update and expand commercial agreements with the two countries and turn them into a free trade treaty, foreign minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa revealed during a hearing in Congress to analyze the current situation in Mercosur.

• Tuesday, August 2nd 2016 - 06:52 UTC

  Mercosur in a state of disarray; Venezuela's presidency disavowed by Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay

  

  Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay have announced they do not support Venezuela as the pro tempore presidency of Mercosur, further deepening controversy in the group which could even hinder ongoing trade negotiations with the European Union and closer links with the Pacific Alliance.