A delegation from the Mexican Government met with officials from the regulatory body of Brazil’s Manaus Free Trade Zone on February 4, 2015, to study the structure of the free zone.

The visit followed an announcement by the Mexican Government that it plans to establish three special economic zones (SEZs) in the southern states of Guerrero, Chiapas, and Oaxaca to boost development in the region.

The delegation was led by Mexico’s Ambassador to Brazil, Beatriz Paredes, and included a number of officials from the Mexican Ministry of Finance.

In August last year, the Brazilian Government enacted legislation extending the validity of the Manaus Free Trade Zone until 2073. The tax incentives of the zone had been due to expire in 2023.

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MILAN: An uptick in car sales, stable home prices and consumer confidence, and second thoughts on growth prospects at the Bank of Italy are the latest indicators that Italy’s long recession might finally be drawing to a close.

In each of the last two years, brief hopes of an economic recovery were dashed by negative growth and a new slump in industrial production. That could happen again this time, though many economists say they are looking at the latest developments with cautious optimism.

“Things are moving in the right direction,” Luca Paolazzi, chief economist with the industrial association Confindustria, told Italian reporters this week. “The new data is comforting; this could be the year the cycle reverses itself.”

The indicators are not insignificant. The Ministry of Transportation reported that new car registrations, an important indicator in an automobile-loving country like Italy, rose to just over 131,000 in January — an 11 percent increase compared to the same month in 2014. That’s the biggest year-on-year increase in at least four years.

Meanwhile, ISTAT, Italy’s National Statistics Institute says consumer confidence levels are holding steady so far this year after steadily falling for the second half of 2014.

The same for bankers, who say Italian home prices, which have fallen steady since mid-2013, are showing signs of leveling out.

Perhaps more importantly, the Bank of Italy has adjusted its economic growth projections upward, albeit by a small margin. The latest prognostications say the Italian economy will grow 0.5 percent this year, up ever so slightly from projections for 0.4 percent growth at the start of the year.

“The Bank of Italy growth projections may not sound like much, and they are still below projections for the European Union as a whole, but compared to the last couple of years, it is good news,” Javier Noriega, chief economist with Hildebrandt and Ferrar, told Xinhua, referring to a 0.5 percent contraction in 2014 and a 1.9 per cent contraction a year earlier.

A big factor in the growth estimates is the weak euro, which makes Italian exports cheaper and makes Italy a more attractive destination for foreign tourists both oversized factors in Italy. Falling oil prices are also relevant, lowering transport costs and further increasing foreign demand for Italian products.

Regardless of the reasoning, if the projections hold, or if they are further adjusted upward, it would be very positive news for Italy.

In that scenario, the country would see debt shrink in terms of gross domestic product and it would allow tax revenue to climb without increasing tax rates. That would help reduce fears Italy could be headed to a new debt crisis, pushing yields on Italian debt lower and reducing government spending by making it cheaper to borrow money.

“Things are moving in the right direction,” Luca Paolazzi, chief economist with the industrial association Confindustria, told Italian reporters this week. “The new data is comforting; this could be the year the cycle reverses itself.”

The indicators are not insignificant. The Ministry of Transportation reported that new car registrations, an important indicator in an automobile-loving country like Italy, rose to just over 131,000 in January — an 11 per cent increase compared to the same month in 2014. That’s the biggest year-on-year increase in at least four years.

Analysts also said a strong economy would help the support levels for Prime Minister Renzi, making it easier for him to push his reform agenda.

“One good thing could lead to another very neatly,” Noriega said. “But it all depends on the positive news continuing. Everything gets reset if it’s another false alarm.”

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On February 10 in Tokyo, Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, and his Mongolian counterpart, Chimed Saikhanbileg, signed an economic partnership agreement (EPA) between their two countries.

Negotiations towards the EPA began in 2012. The deal includes an agreement that both countries will lower almost all of their tariffs on goods over a period of 10 years.

Mongolia will remove its import duty on most Japanese cars, while Japan will eliminate its tariffs on the majority of Mongolia’s exports of industrial products (including cashmere) over the same period. Japan will also reduce its duty on Mongolian processed beef, subject to a quota.

Passenger vehicles and their components amount to more than half of Japan’s total exports to Mongolia, which totaled some USD290m in 2013. Mongolia’s exports to Japan, which are intended to be boosted by the EPA, currently consist mainly of coal and other natural resources, and outflows were worth just over USD20m in the same year.

Completion of the EPA is also intended to ensure that Japan can access stable future supplies of rare earths, which are used by its motor industry. Such supplies from China have been put in doubt after China replaced its export quotas, which were challenged before the World Trade Organization, with a licensing system, on top of high export duties.

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