MERCOSUR TENSIONS Mercosur-China trade talks must address imbalance, Paraguay says Yesterday 11:59 Mercosur would be willing to negotiate a trade agreement with China if it addresses the lopsided commerce between the two trading partners, says Paraguay.
Mercosur trade bloc Uruguay applauds Argentina’s shift of stance on Mercosur 05-09-2024 13:15 Argentina indicates it is willing to shift its stance on Mercosur trade bloc negotiations, drawing praise from Uruguay.
CUTBACKS AT STATE AIRLINE Adorni: 1,500 jobs cut at Aerolíneas Argentinas in six months 04-09-2024 17:33 Milei administration has reduced the size of flagship carrier’s payroll by 13%, says presidential spokesperson.
ECONOMY & FOREIGN POLICY Argentina, US ink accord for ‘cooperation on critical minerals’ 23-08-2024 13:31 Argentina and the United States sign memorandum of understanding to strengthen production of "critical minerals" such as lithium that are essential for the energy transition.
PRESIDENT IN GERMANY Scholz, Milei demand swift deal on EU-Mercosur free-trade pact 23-06-2024 16:05 Chancellor Olaf Scholz received President Javier Milei for talks in Berlin on Sunday in which both leaders discussed closer economic cooperation on trade, renewable energies and climate protection.
LABOUR UNREST Unions ramp up protests against Milei’s labour reforms 06-05-2024 14:30 Workers' assemblies complicate transport in and around Buenos Aires, with social groups set to demonstrate on Tuesday and the CGT's nationwide strike scheduled for Thursday.
FOREIGN POLICY & ECONOMY Mondino: Mercosur must open up to ‘agreements with other countries’ 17-04-2024 17:16 Argentina's Foreign Minister Diana Mondino calls for modernisation of Mercosur rules and backs push for free-trade deal with China.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY Mondino warms ties with Brazil, but no Milei-Lula meet on cards 16-04-2024 13:10 "The possibility of a presidential meeting is always present. And we hope that at some point it will happen," Argentina's Foreign Minister Diana Mondino declares after visit to Brasília.
EU-MERCOSUR DEAL Macron slams 'very bad' EU-Mercosur deal, proposes negotiating new one 28-03-2024 14:48 French President Emmanuel Macron delivers withering remarks about deal that took 20 years to negotiate and suggests ripping it up and starting all over again.
MERCOSUR TRADE DEALS EFTA euro nations eye Mercosur deal before year-end 22-03-2024 15:00 Parliamentary representatives from European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) stop in Buenos Aires as part of regional tour focusing on efforts to secure free-trade deal with the Mercosur bloc. by James Grainger
MERCOSUR TENSIONS Mercosur tensions: Uruguay rage overshadows hope for EU deal 08-03-2024 11:43 Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou slams Argentina, Brazil governments for blocking his free-trade deal with China; Lula and Spanish PM Sánchez optimistic about long-trailed EU despite impasse.
GEOPOLITICS & DIPLOMACY G20 finance ministers meet on world economy hit by crises, conflicts 28-02-2024 12:55 G20 finance ministers will meet Wednesday in Brazil, seeking ways to shore up a global economy whose nascent recovery is threatened by a raft of conflicts and crises, including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Germany's Scholz stresses importance of EU-Mercosur agreement 05-02-2024 20:16 Germany is one of the most fervent supporters of an agreement between the European Union and Mercosur nations. France, however, is starkly opposed.
EU-MERCOSUR DEAL EU-Mercosur trade deal totters as Europe's farmers revolt 30-01-2024 18:15 Growing farmer protests in Europe and strong opposition from France damages push for EU-Mercosur free-trade deal.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL EU says Mercosur deal 'not quite there' but talks continue 30-01-2024 09:43 EU-Mercosur trade deal is "not quite there yet" but talks continue, the European Commission said Tuesday against a backdrop of farmer protests in Europe.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Macron asks EU’s Von der Leyen to stop Mercosur trade deal 30-01-2024 07:27 French President Emmanuel Macron asks European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen to end the current round of negotiations over free-trade deal between EU and Mercosur trade bloc.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL France 'opposes signing' of EU-Mercosur trade deal, says prime minister 26-01-2024 14:59 French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal says President Emmanuel Macron "has always opposed" the free-trade deal negotiated between the European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc.
SECURITY & HUMAN RIGHTS Milei government orders social groups, unions to pay for protest 13-01-2024 22:04 Security Ministry sends summons to more than a dozen unions and social organisations, ordering them to pay the state millions of pesos for the policing of recent demonstrations within 10 days.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Scholz, Milei in favour of swift conclusion to EU-Mercosur deal 09-01-2024 20:42 President Javier Milei spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday, with the two calling for a swift conclusion to the European Union-Mercosur trade deal.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Crunch time for EU-Mercosur trade deal at Rio summit 05-12-2023 09:01 Fate of long-awaited trade deal hangs in the balance this week at key Mercosur summit in Brazil; Meeting was originally supposed to seal agreement, but last-minute bickering puts it in doubt.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Argentina: Conditions not in place to sign Mercosur-EU deal 04-12-2023 12:09 Argentina’s outgoing government says conditions are not in place to sign long-delayed free-trade agreement between Mercosur and European Union.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Macron concerns derail EU-Mercosur trade agreement yet again 03-12-2023 08:33 EU-Mercosur trade deal receives a serious setback after French President Emmanuel Macron declares environmental concessions obtained by the European bloc fall short of what’s needed.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL EU-Mercosur trade agreement postponed as Milei awaited 02-12-2023 15:03 Major trade deal between the European Union and Latin American economies now unlikely to be signed next week as hoped, as additional commitments will require Javier Milei's approval.
MERCOSUR BLOC EU, South America near deal on elusive Mercosur trade pact 30-11-2023 12:51 European Union and Mercosur are closer than ever to concluding a major free-trade agreement more than two decades in the making, with leaders optimistic they can strike a deal next week.
OP-ED Ireland deepens relations with Latin America and the Caribbean 25-11-2023 10:26 The Irish commitment to step up our engagement with the Latin America and the Caribbean region has been backed by the EU’s commitment to do the same.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY More moderate Milei embraces trading partners he had shunned 24-11-2023 14:31 Signs indicate foul-mouthed libertarian who swept to power with radical promises to fix Argentina’s problems may be adopting a more pragmatic approach, at least in foreign policy, as he prepares to take office.
ELECTION 2023: REACTION EU, India congratulate Javier Milei on Argentina election win 20-11-2023 11:41 Top EU officials send congratulations to Javier Milei, with European Council president Charles Michel dubbing the country a "close partner."
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY China congratulates Argentina’s Milei despite ‘assassin’ insult 20-11-2023 09:11 China congratulated Javier Milei for winning the presidential election in Argentina – after an unexpected primary victory in August, the libertarian said he'd freeze relations with Beijing.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ‘First six months of 2024 are going to be terrible,’ says Argentine business leader 15-11-2023 22:41 Head of Cámara Argentina de Comercio offers ominous forecast for next government’s initial months in office and warns politicians must “do things properly" in what looks to be a “complex” year ahead.
MERCOSUR-EU AGREEMENT Lula and Sánchez plead for finalising Mercosur-EU agreement 03-11-2023 16:54 President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pled in a telephone conversation on Friday for finalising the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union as soon as possible.
FOREIGN TRADE Paraguay hopes to reach ‘understanding’ with Argentina on free navigation 26-10-2023 14:55 Paraguayan President Santiago Peña hopes to reach an “understanding” with Argentina over the free navigation of a shared waterway.
MERCOSUR Mercosur responds to EU document of environmental demands 15-09-2023 16:27 Mercosur responds to EU document outlining environmental demands amid moves to close free-trade agreement between both blocs.
WATERWAYS South American neighbours slam Argentina over river tax on Paraguay 11-09-2023 21:18 Argentina’s neighbours have sharply criticised its tax against commercial boats travelling through the key Paraná River, backing Paraguayan objections.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Lula urges meeting of EU-Mercosur leaders over trade deal fate 11-09-2023 11:34 EU and the Mercosur countries have been in talks to try to clinch a trade accord for more than 20 years – Lula says it's not time to decide, once and for all.
TIES WITH CUBA Brazil to send business leaders to Cuba in push to rebuild ties 02-09-2023 10:32 Delegation of at least 30 Brazilian business leaders will travel to Havana on Monday in search of opportunities to boost trade with Cuba, the latest step in Lula's push to repair relations between the two nations.
JAVIER MILEI INTERVIEW Milei says he’d reject ‘assassin’ China, take Argentina out of Mercosur 16-08-2023 22:04 Presidential frontrunner doesn’t want to engage with leftists; Diana Mondino to run foreign ministry if president, Milei says.
INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO Sabino Vaca Narvaja: ‘We look to a world which no longer exists, a Eurocentric world’ 29-07-2023 06:29 Sabino Vaca Narvaja, Argentina’s ambassador to China, on bilateral relations with Beijing, why trade ties must be deepened and the need to rethink the Foreign Ministry and our approach to the East. by Jorge Fontevecchia
SUMMIT IN PUERTO IGUAZÚ Mercosur meet ends with disputes over EU deal, trade, Venezuela 07-07-2023 12:49 Argentina, Brazil take aim at EU's environmental trade deal terms; Uruguay and Paraguay expose rift with Brasília and Buenos Aires over Maduro regime’s treatment of opposition politician in Venezuela.
MERCOSUR TENSIONS Lula vows to grow Mercosur amid Uruguay flak, Argentina crisis 05-07-2023 11:00 Plans to strengthen and expand the Mercosur trading bloc hit by disagreement among its members over several topics, including Venezuela and free-trade agreements with other markets.
Mercosur summit Argentina, Brazil take aim at EU's environmental trade deal terms 04-07-2023 14:49 Argentina and Brazil slam "unacceptable" EU stance in negotiations with the Mercosur bloc for long-delayed free-trade deal.
MERCOSUR SUMMIT Alberto Fernández shows off support for Sergio Massa at Mercosur summit 04-07-2023 14:34 At the Mercosur summit in Puerto Iguazú, President Alberto Fernández shows off support for Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who secures a host of invitations from foreign leaders. by Rosario Ayerdi
MERCOSUR TENSIONS Uruguay steps up criticism of Mercosur at Argentina summit 04-07-2023 13:56 Uruguay steps up criticism of Mercosur at key summit, saying internal trade barriers are hurting exports to Argentina while the bloc's regulations prevent it from signing an agreement with China.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Argentina calls for ‘updating’ of EU-Mercosur trade deal 03-07-2023 14:44 Argentina's Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero opens Mercosur summit with call for "updating" of bloc's free-trade agreement reached in 2019 with the European Union.
ANALYSIS Are we close to a EU-Mercosur trade agreement? 03-07-2023 10:34 The latest diplomatic signs suggest that the Southern Cone bloc is interested in reaching an understanding. Hopefully the European Union will listen to its own commission, which is also pushing for a deal.
EU-MERCOSUR TRADE DEAL Mercosur summit opens as EU trade deal hangs in the balance 03-07-2023 08:33 Four regional presidents set to meet at key Mercosur summit in Puerto Iguazú, with talks over free-trade deal with the European Union dominating the agenda.
Lithium in Latin America China, Russia pledge US$1.4 billion for lithium plants in Bolivia 30-06-2023 10:41 China's Citic Guoan and Russia's Uranium One Group will partner with Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos to install two lithium carbonate plants.
BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS Dollars are so scarce in Argentina that yuan use is at a record 26-06-2023 13:46 Yuan’s share of forex transactions hit record 28% this month; Dollars in short supply amid surging inflation, crop failures.
LULA in EUROPE Brazil's Lula to talk trade with Macron on France, Italy trip 19-06-2023 14:53 Veteran leftist leader Lula says he will discuss the EU's proposed "hardening" of terms in Mercosur trade deal during trip to France, Italy and the Vatican.
BILATERAL MEET Biden hosts Uruguay’s president for surprise meeting 14-06-2023 14:13 US President Joe Biden explores "ways to expand the economic relationship" with Uruguay during meeting with Luis Lacalle Pou at White House.
FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY EU seeks to boost 'neglected' ties with Latin America 07-06-2023 12:42 European Union launches new strategy to "recalibrate and renew" relations with Latin American and Caribbean countries, just over a month before first EU-CELAC summit for eight years.