
Mercosur country members are scheduled to hold a meeting in Rio do Janeiro to agree on a common protocol for all vessels originating in the Falkland Islands and calling at regional ports, announced Uruguay’s Defence minister Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro.

Brazil is eager to finalize a free trade agreement between the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and the Mercosur bloc but believes the petrochemicals sector will be exempted until further study after the signing, said Brazilian Trade and Industry Minister Fernando Pimentel.

The European Commission in its latest report on trade and investments complains about Mercosur protectionist policies, restrictions to maritime transport and to the export of commodities particularly from Brazil and Argentina.

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica said that the presence of Prince William, heir to the British Crown, in the Malvinas Islands is a gesture “not at all nice” and called for the dispute with Argentina not to become military because it’s no good for anybody, least for the region.

Inflation and an over valued currency are among the main challenges faced by the Uruguayan economy this year in the framework of a global recession which threatens the country’s exports

Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota and his visiting German counterpart Guido Westerwelle on Monday called for signing a free trade agreement between the European Union and the South American trade bloc Mercosur.

Brazil imposed additional levies on the import of blankets from Mercosur associates Paraguay and Uruguay alleging triangulation of Chinese textiles, which are restricted because of dumping practices.

European and Latin American personalities underlined the peril of falling prey to short term results and forget the long term relation between the two regions which is expected to be re-launched following the French presidential election next April.

Mercosur from a real point of view exits, but institutionally it’s a “chewing gum” claimed Uruguayan president Jose Mujica who anticipated he would demand from the block’s partners that Uruguay be allowed to sign bilateral trade agreements with third parties.

President Cristina Fernandez hopes to convince Brazil to join Argentina in its campaign against the multinational corporations in an effort to balance trade balances in the midst of the global crisis spurred by the Euro crisis, China’s slow reaction and the US economy which still has to recover from the full impact of the 2008/09 recession.