News of trade

Trump says he will double steel and aluminum tariffs to 50%

31-05-2025 10:35 US President Donald Trump says will double steel and aluminium import tariffs to 50% from next week.

Argentina claims return to global markets with peso bond sale

26-05-2025 20:51 Argentina’s government will issue a five-year bond denominated in pesos that’s aimed at international investors who are allowed to purchase it in US dollars.

ANALYSIS: SHOCK THERAPY

How Milei keeps peso strong ahead of midterm vote

14-05-2025 12:00 President Milei's government doubles down on a strong peso strategy, making it the cornerstone of his midterm election campaign.

TRADE & COMMERCE

Lula and Xi to ink new deals as Brazil shrugs off Trump’s trade threats

13-05-2025 08:51 Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and China’s Xi Jinping are set to ink new trade-related agreements in Beijing on Tuesday.

AGRICULTURE & ECONOMY

China is said seeking Argentina crops as it skirts US tariffs

09-05-2025 08:31 China signed a letter of intent with exporters in Argentina to buy about US$900 million of soybeans, corn and vegetable oil.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Merz tells France Mercosur trade deal must be ratified 'quickly'

07-05-2025 11:13 New German chancellor Friedrich Merz says EU countries should "quickly" ratify a free-trade deal with the Mercosur bloc that has met with staunch opposition from France.

ARGENTINA-CHINA RELATIONS

Chinese business interests await gesture from Milei towards Xi

01-05-2025 09:18 Over-enthusiasm for the United States has damaged links with China, hampering political moves towards investment and trade agreements. A presidential trip to the Asian power is the key to smoothing the acrimony.

by Eugenia Muzio

Geopolitcs & trade

Xi is trying to turn world against US as Trump cuts trade deals

29-04-2025 11:03 Beijing officials are racing to turn foreign governments against the United States inside a 90-day window Trump has granted all nations — except China — to strike trade deals during a tariff reprieve.

Supply lines

Latin America is master of its markets, not Trump, Bradesco says

23-04-2025 22:34 Outlook for Latin American shares depends more on local elections and fiscal and monetary policy than it does Donald Trump’s tariff war.

SUPPLY LINES

Mercosur shields Paraguay from Trump tariff pain, says finance chief

23-04-2025 22:29 Membership in one of the world’s most protectionist trade blocs will help shield Paraguay from the worst of near-term disruptions caused by US tariffs.

AGRICULTURE & LIVESTOCK

From meat to grains, trade war is a boon to Brazil and Argentina

22-04-2025 14:38 Escalating tensions between the United States and China have created an opening for Brazil and Argentina to ramp up exports.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU hopes Trump tariffs can nudge Mercosur deal past finish line

17-04-2025 09:10 Spectre of transatlantic trade war is fuelling hopes of a silver lining in Europe: that the long-awaited EU-Mercorur free-trade deal could get a final green light.

GEOPOLITICS & DIPLOMACY

Trump’s China trade war is forcing Latin America to pick a side

15-04-2025 14:02 Intensifying battle between world’s two largest economies has left governments grappling with the reality that their days of doing big business with Beijing without serious blowback from Washington are numbered.

As I see it

Trump has China in the crosshairs

12-04-2025 05:41 The 19th century belonged to the United Kingdom, the 20th to the United States. And the 21st?

by James Neilson

Global politics – Analysis

Trump, Milei and how to lose the trust of markets and voters

12-04-2025 05:37 Trump stepped back from the edge, at least momentarily, even though he is keeping his finger on the trigger.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

MERCOSUR SUMMIT

Mercosur to expand common tariff exemptions as trade war rages

11-04-2025 17:30 Mercosur countries have decided to relax common external tariffs on 50 products of the choice of each of its members, giving them more flexibility to negotiate deals.

EURO TRADE PLANS

EU races to expand two-trillion-euro trade network as US links sour

11-04-2025 13:49 The European Union is racing to clinch trade deals with countries around the world in an effort to diversify away from an increasingly protectionist United States.

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

Trump’s tariffs may speed EU–Mercosur deal, says Orsi

11-04-2025 10:09 Uruguay’s president sees US protectionism pushing Europe to compromise on stalled trade pact

EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL

EU offers timeline for final Mercosur deal proposal

10-04-2025 14:28 Top EU spokesperson says he wants to present a proposal for sweeping free-trade agreement before “end of summer,” with legal review ongoing.

Foreign policy & diplomacy

Milei hails shared values during talks with Paraguay’s Peña

09-04-2025 21:32 President met up with his Paraguayan counterpart, holding various meetings in Asunción during brief overseas trip.

TRUMP'S TARIFF WAR

Strength in numbers: Latin America urges unity in face of Trump tariffs

09-04-2025 17:38 Latin American leaders at CELAC summit in Honduras call for a united front to tackle US President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught.

TRADE TALKS

Argentina in talks with US to cut tariffs, says Trump official

09-04-2025 11:40 US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says Argentina and others may ease trade restrictions to align with Trump’s policy.

WORLD ECONOMY

Trump's trade representative says tariffs 'bearing fruit'

08-04-2025 12:33 Top US trade official Jamieson Greer says several countries – including Argentina, Vietnam and Israel – have offered to reduce sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

'BLACK MONDAY'

Market panic deepens as Trump stands firm over tariffs

07-04-2025 09:45 Global stock market rout deepened on Monday and fears of recession rose after China retaliated against US President Donald Trump's tariffs and Europe calibrated its response.

Interview

Brazilian ambassador: Lula-Milei differences have 'minimal effect on bilateral relations’

05-04-2025 06:34 Brazil’s Ambassador to Argentina on managing bilateral relations, despite the enmity between Javier Milei and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Julio Bitelli on Jair Bolsonaro’s trial, the Malvinas issue, the flirtation between Argentina and the United States, the trade imbalance and the importance of Vaca Muerta.

by Cecilia Degl'Innocenti

TRADE WARS

Trump tariffs everyone, with rate on China set to soar above 50%

03-04-2025 00:24 US President Donald Trump announces steepest US tariffs in a century, unnerving investors who see a trade war ahead.

TRADE WARS

Trump tariffs threaten Latin American steel industry

01-04-2025 15:18 US president’s new tariffs, designed to protect American consumers, will put Latin America's steel industry on the ropes

POLLING & SURVEYS

Latin Americans split on retaliation as Trump’s tariffs loom

01-04-2025 12:19 Half of Mexicans, Argentines and Brazilians want their governments to retaliate to Trump’s tariffs, with slightly smaller shares of Colombians and Chileans saying the same.

MERCOSUR TRADE

Lula urges Mercosur-Japan deal to counter Trump protectionism

26-03-2025 08:38 Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva calls for new trade deal between Mercosur bloc and Japan during visit to Tokyo.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Is Donald Trump good for Argentina?

15-03-2025 07:40 Trump’s new transactional and short-term economic order overlaps with a new gangster-style and hyper-materialistic political order.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

INTERVIEW / IRISH AMBASSADOR

Irish eyes are on the future, says Dublin’s man in Buenos Aires

15-03-2025 07:16 Ireland’s Ambassador to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, Gerard McCoy, marks St. Patrick’s Day with a review of diplomatic relations, Argentina’s Irish community and bilateral trade.

by Michael Soltys

CANADIAN ELECTION

Canada's next PM Mark Carney vows to 'win' US trade war

10-03-2025 12:52 Liberal Party elects former investment banker Mark Carney to succeed Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his combative anti-Trump rhetoric.

TRADE WARS

Trump changes tack on some tariffs, but steel, aluminium remain

06-03-2025 18:20 Mexico and Canada given grace period, but levies on imported metals and agricultural products look set to hit Argentina hard.

BILATERAL TRADE

Trump says he is open to a trade deal with Argentina

04-03-2025 15:39 US President Donald Trump responds positively to question speculating over likelihood of US-Argentina free-trade deal.

Global trade

Trump escalates global trade war, sparking tit-for-tat tariffs

04-03-2025 12:27 Confirmation of the levies lays to rest doubts Trump would actually follow through on his repeated threats to upend global economic ties to counter what he casts as imbalanced trade.

MERCOSUR TENSIONS

Milei: Mercosur bloc ‘has only enriched Brazilian industrialists’

02-03-2025 11:28 Argentina’s President Javier Milei declares in speech to Congress that Mercosur trade bloc has “only enriched Brazilian industrialists,” warning he will take his nation out of trade bloc if it prevents free-trade deal with United States.

TRADE WAR

US or China? Latin America under pressure to pick a side

14-02-2025 12:55 US President Donald Trump pressures key trading partners like Mexico to break away from China's influence, vowing to shut the 'backdoor' allowing China to import products tariff-free through Latin America.

Foreign relations & diplomacy

Trade war puts Milei’s Trump-first foreign policy to the test

14-02-2025 10:48 Javier Milei has spent his presidency cozying up to Donald Trump. But Argentina’s suddenly vulnerable position on tariffs demonstrates that not even friends are clear of Trump’s trade ire.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Argentina records highest monthly trade deficit with Brazil in seven years

13-02-2025 00:17 Bilateral trade between the two Mercosur partners was US$2.098 billion last month, up 34.1% from the previous January, but imports surge takes Argentina into negative territory.

TRADE WAR

No exemption for Argentina on steel, aluminium tariffs

12-02-2025 18:10 US president confirms 25% steel, aluminium tariffs on imports because United States has “a small deficit” with Argentina on trade.

AGRICULTURE

Milei’s plan to boost farm exports: stop ships from running aground

12-02-2025 11:41 Argentina’s government is moving to give the neglected Paraná waterway its first major upgrade in nearly two decades. But time is running out for the fixes to be made.

POLLING & SURVEYS

Argentines want US trade deal despite competition, tariff fears

11-02-2025 09:03 Argentines support President Milei’s quest to negotiate a free-trade agreement with the United States, but are split over competing with US firms.

STEEL & ALUMINIUM

Trump’s steel, aluminium tariffs a headache for domestic producers

10-02-2025 18:50 US President Donald Trump says he will impose 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports; decision will hurt domestic exporters such as Tenaris and Aluar.

TRADE WAR

Trump, China's Xi set to speak on tariff battle

04-02-2025 16:05 Trump triggers a trade war and Chinese President Xi Jinping hurls back 15 percent levies on coal and liquified natural gas imports. The two world leaders are expected to meet Tuesday.

Split Coalition

Trump clash fractures Colombia's ruling coalition

29-01-2025 15:59 Colombia's Liberal Party severs ties with President Gustavo Petro's legislative coalition following his social media spat with Trump, which could make promised reforms more difficult to pass.

Energy Export

Energy export surge quells fears over currency management

29-01-2025 11:20 BlackRock, Barings say energy dollars should quell Argentina’s foreign exchange concerns.

Tariff Threat

Trump holds off on Colombia tariffs after migrant deal

27-01-2025 12:22 US president sends a powerful message by threatening sweeping tariffs on Latin American ally to push forward his geopolitical goals on migration.