A robot which categorizes soy bean plants according to their capacity to resist drought and make better use of the water resource has been developed by a bio-technology group of Mercosur researchers in Argentina, with European Union support.
Uruguay and Argentina signed on Friday an agreement to build a re-gasification plant for liquid natural gas to help meet their energy needs. The floating re-gasification plant will supply the two nations with 10 million cubic meters a day of natural gas, scalable to 15 million, starting in 2013 according to an official statement.
A high level delegation from Uruguay is exploring the possibility of forging cooperation with India in the wind power sector. Led by Uruguayan Vice President Danilo Astori, the delegation visited Wednesday the plant of RRB Energy Ltd (RRBEL) in Chennai (formally Madras).
Argentine Industry Ministry officials assured Wednesday that non-automatic licenses currently being applied to imports “in no way represent an obstacle for our Mercosur partners” and they have been implemented to monitor imports from outside the region.
Even when Uruguay and Brazil are in the course of reaching understandings with Argentina regarding the latest trade restrictions to be implemented by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner administration, ‘which are not targeted against Mercosur members’, the Brazilian press presents another angle.
Leaders of Ireland’s three main parties pledged on Monday to oppose any trade deal with Mercosur countries which could damage Irish exports if EU standards of production are not adhered to, reports the Irish Times.
Uruguay and Argentina are discussing a ‘fast track’ mechanism that will allow Uruguayan exports to have quick access to the neighbour’s market thus avoiding the controversial trade restrictions recently announced by the administration of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and which have surprised Mercosur partners.
The chairman of the Uruguayan Chamber of Industry, Washington Burghi, warned that Argentina’s decision to restrict imports could be “the beginning of the end” for the Mercosur. However Argentine ambassador in Montevideo said decisions are targeted against Asian imports with the purpose of defending Argentine jobs.
Paraguay expressed deep concern about “Brazilian dominance” in South America, reveals a diplomatic cable exposed by Wikileaks and reproduced this week by the Brazilian portal ‘Opera Mundi’.
France warned Tuesday that it is following closely European Union/Mercosur trade talks to ensure that farmers from both blocks are strictly subjected to the same rules.