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Mercosur

Mercosur, or the Southern Common Market, is a customs union between Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. It was originally set up in 1991. Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru have associate member status. Bolivia may be incorporated as a full member soon. In June 2006, Venezuela signed on as a full Mercosur member, although its membership still has to be ratified by the parliament of Paraguay.

As an instrument of subregional integration, Mercosur has been used to carry out important harmonization processes between the member states in areas such as intellectual property, agricultural policy and labour law. But the group is also plagued by internal conflicts.

Mercosur as a bloc is currently negotiating bilateral free trade agreements with other blocs such as CARICOM, the Andean Community, European Union, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. It is also seeking one with the Dominican Republic.

Mercosur signed an FTA with Israel in December 2007 (which entered into force in September 2011) and another with Palestine in December 2011 after the four members recognised its statehood.

The possibility of Uruguay’s “breaking away” from Mercosur to sign its own FTA with the United States has created enormous tension within the group (not to mention within Uruguay). A similar situation exists with Paraguay.

last update: May 2012


Bolivia’s entry adds to pressure on Mercosur
The economic inequalities undermining unity among the countries of Mercosur will become more urgent with the likely acceptance of Bolivia as a full member at the bloc’s summit being held Thursday and Friday in this Brazilian city.
Agreement with the GGC is important for all in the Mercosur, says Brazilian Foreign Minister
Representatives of the Mercosur and the Gulf Cooperation Council met yesterday in Rio de Janeiro to discuss a free trade agreement between both blocs.
Arab Gulf delegation to visit Brazil to ink agreement with Mercosur
The basic texts for the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to Brazilian diplomats, are going to be ratified during the summit of the South American bloc, to take place on January 18th and 19th in Rio de Janeiro.
Pulp mill conflict widens Mercosur rift
Escalating mutual recriminations and complaints between Argentina and Uruguay signaled the first day of deliberations at the Mercosur ministerial meeting in Brasilia in the same week that the group officially inaugurated its Parliament.
MERCOSUR: Uruguay sues Argentina
The Southern Common Market Claims Court is hearing Uruguay’s case against Argentina due to road blocks by Argentinean citizens on international routes.
Mercosur plans to return to dialogue with the GCC in September
The Mercosur wants to return to free trade treaty talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in September, after the holiday period in the Arab world and before Ramadan, the holy month that this year should begin around September 22. The idea is to organize a meeting between representatives of both blocs in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
Brazil says Mexico may join Mercosur
Brazil Trade and Industry Minister Luiz Fernando Furlan said Monday that Mexico could join the South American trade block Mercosur within a year.
Has Mercosur gone bananas?
While the world was focused on the tragic events taking place in Lebanon and northern Israel, something very disturbing happened in South America last week. The trading bloc known as Mercosur (the South American common market), at its summit meeting in the Argentine city of Cordoba, formally supported Venezuela’s bid for one of the two Latin American seats on the United Nations Security Council.
Mexico bid to join Mercosur as associate member
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said on Friday that his government had formally requested the accession to the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) as an associate member.
Brazil: “new deal” for Mercosur junior members
Brazil proposed in Montevideo a “new deal” for Mercosur and requested a “credit of confidence” from Uruguay, which has bitterly complained about the group’s functioning and is moving closer to United States.

    Links


  • MERCOSUR
    Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR) is a common market between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
  • MERCOSUR website
    Official website of MERCOSUR, a common market between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (in Portuguese and Spanish)