Water levels below average at the Paraná-Paraguay river waterway have traders concerned over the future of their business. However, there seems to be consensus on the need to develop a master plan to tackle the grim situation stemming from discouraging precipitation forecasts despite abundant rainfall in recent weeks.
The Mercosur/European Union trade and cooperation agreement, “is a complicated process but it is also a matter of time and timing”, according to Rupert Schlegelmilch, chief EU negotiator of the accord who recently visited Mercosur country and associate members to meet government officials and business groups to confirm EU's determination to finish the deal.
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met Friday in Asunción to strengthen bilateral ties as well as to further discuss a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). Peña, who holds the group's rotating presidency, expressed in a statement his “fervent desire” to “move forward with a free trade agreement between Mercosur and Japan.”
The Lower House of Bolivia's Plurinational Legislative Assembly (ALP) Thursday failed to approve the country's accession to the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) after Speaker Israel Huaytari adjourned the session during which the matter was to be debated. Lawmakers loyal to former President Evo Morales are said to oppose the Protocol of Accession of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to Mercosur initiative.
Trade between China and Latin American countries surpassed US$ 480 billion in 2023, compared to a mere US$ 14 billion back in 2000, based on data from the Customs Administration of the People’s Republic of China (AGA) and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC.
Brazilian authorities announced this week that new measures will be in force concerning the import of steel products. In a move to discourage such practices, goods exceeding the quota of 11 items will be charged higher taxes, Agencia Brasil reported. In other words, if the maximum volume is exceeded, the import duty, currently ranging between 9% and 14.4%, will reach 25%, the Chamber of Foreign Commerce explained. The initiative seeks to prevent unfair competition with domestic steel.
In a gathering of prominent figures from the political and business spheres, Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou emphasized the importance of a strong state to ensure individual freedom during the “freedom dinner” organized by Fundación Libertad in Buenos Aires. The event, attended by former Argentine President Mauricio Macri, current Argentine President Javier Milei, and other distinguished guests, provided a platform for discussions on liberty, democracy, and economic freedom.
French President Emmanuel Macron told a business forum in São Paulo that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the South American Common Market (Mercosur) and the European Union (EU) needed to be ”renegotiated from scratch,” Agencia Brasil reported.
Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Emmanuel Macron launched Tuesday in Belém a € 1 billion investment bioeconomy program for the Brazilian Legal Amazon as well as for the part of the Amazon within French Guiana to raise funds through public and private investments over the next four years, Agencia Brasil reported.
Former Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) Chief Justice Rosa Weber has accepted President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's proposal to become a member of Mercosur's Asunción-based Review Court which handles disputes among member countries, Agencia Brasil reported.