
Argentine President Cristina Fernández ruled out that the Government is planning to set a ceiling on this year’s collective bargaining and said that unions must “carry on with their salary negotiations freely by taking corporate profit into account.” She announced, however, the creation of a committee in order to follow them closely.

The Brazilian government expressed concerns over the new Argentine trade barriers going in effect on Wednesday and informed that it would “evaluate its impact and legality” before making any decisions, Foreign Trade secretary Tatiana Prazeres announced.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Argentina about its “lack of progress” in addressing inflation data and called on the country to implement “specific measures” within the next six months to improve it.

Argentina’s controversial new import restrictions came into effect on Wednesday as part of the legislation on the trading sector which gives the government bureaucracy more powers to control and restrict imports.

By Jaime Daremblum from the Hudson Institute (*) - In 1982, Argentina's right wing military junta launched a sudden invasion of the Falkland Islands, the South Atlantic archipelago that has been a British possession since 1833. The invasion was motivated by a desire to distract attention from the country's severe economic woes, including hyperinflation and massive capital flight.

Brazil reiterated its support for Argentina’s Malvinas Islands sovereignty claim and insisted that solving the controversy with the UK is ‘most important’ for South America’s stability. It also pointed out that it’s not correct to talk about “a blockade”.

Argentina condemned the announcement of the arrival of state of the art HMS Dauntless, a British warship, to the Falklands/Malvinas Islands and urged the UK to “avoid falling in the temptation of engaging in discourse that transforms patriotism in bullying patriotism.”

The Canadian Osisko mining corporation has suspended a gold mining project in Argentina after protests by locals. Osisko said on Tuesday it would put its operation in north-western La Rioja province on hold if it did not get the backing of the local population which has been protesting for weeks.

The UK press reports that the Royal Navy is to send one of its most powerful warships to the Falkland Islands as tensions rise with Argentina over the disputed territory.

European Union ambassador in Buenos Aires Alfonso Diez Torres said that the Falklands/Malvinas issue does not figure in the foreign affairs agenda of the EU, it’s a bilateral issue and he does not see any reason to amend the Lisbon treaty to exclude the disputed South Atlantic Islands as demanded by Argentina.