Former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso said that Mercosur has 'yet to crystallize as a customs union' and pointed to the common external tariff which is the founding stone but is full of objections as the main hurdle. Nevertheless I remain positive about the strength of Mercosur.
The president of the European Commission (EC), Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, called on Friday for concluding negotiations and finalizing a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Pacific Alliance member Mexico is poised to overtake Brazil, the leading economy in Mercosur, as the top Latin American auto producer for the first time in more than a decade as surging exports to the U.S. spur factory openings and record output.
The much delayed Mercosur summit will finally take place at the end of the month in Caracas, according to sources from Paraguay and Venezuela. During the last OAS meeting, Venezuelan Foreign minister Elias Jaua confirmed to his Paraguay peer Eladio Loizaga that the date is 29 July and that the consultation process has been completed.
Mercosur leaders called for dialogue with the Pacific Alliance over its perception that Mercosur is becoming an obstacle to integration and wider growth in the region. Uruguayan Vice-President Danilo Astori seemingly sparked the debate a few weeks ago when he said that “Mercosur mustn’t be a terminal station,” calling for formal trade deals with the Pacific Alliance.
Uruguay promulgated the bill which incorporates Bolivia as the latest member of Mercosur, the South American group made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. The incorporation of Bolivia should help with the consolidation of a Mercosur Atlantic-Pacific corridor across South America.
Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich praised the “clear, categorical and broad” support for Argentina’s stance in its dispute with speculative funds' holdouts from 133 countries from the UN system and specialized international media, and also confirmed that next month it will make the first payment of the agreement reached with the Paris Club.
The Union of Southern Nations (UNASUR) expressed its solidarity with Argentina after US Supreme Court decision to dismiss the country’s appeal in its legal dispute with holdout hedge funds, rejecting “the behavior of speculative agents that endanger the agreements reached between debtors and creditors”.
Mercosur and Celac country-members expressed support for Argentina and its ongoing litigation with the holdout hedge funds, particularly last week's decision from the US Supreme Court, (which refused to consider the case), and the financial consequences emerging from such a position.
The Uruguay-Germany commerce and industry chamber (AHK), expressed its deepest concern over the current tension in relations between Uruguay and Argentina, and warned about the impact on the business climate for the two countries.