MERCOSUR

Introduction

MERCOSUR, the "Common Market of the South," is the largest trading bloc in South America

Created in 1991 as Argentina and Brazil sought to improve their diplomatic and economic relations, the bloc saw a fivefold increase in regional trade in the 1990s. 

Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency

History1991: Treaty of Asunción goes into force in 1991,

effectively mandating the creation of a common southern market (MERCOSUR) by December 31, 1994. Original signatories are Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay

1994: Creation of Mercosur1995: Creation of customs union. MERCOSUR

and the European Union sign an agreement of trade association and cooperation in various areas

1999: Free trade agreement with two trading block EU and NAFTA

2004: Preferential trade agreement with India

(Awaited)Members…

Objective

The free transit of produced goods, services and factors among the member states Among other things, this includes the elimination of customs rights and lifting of nontariff restrictions on the transit of goods or any other measures with similar effects.

Fixing of a common external tariff (CET).Move member countries’ economies away

from import-substitution modelsDevelop institutional groups

•Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency. The official languages are Guaraní, Portuguese, and Spanish.•Intra-Mercosur merchandise trade grew from $10 billion at the inception of the trade bloc in 1991, to $88 billion in 2010.•With a population of more than 270 million people, and a GDP of the full-member nations in excess of $3 trillion a year.

Functions.

FactsPopulation : 0.3 billion(2010) , 43% of

Latin America’s population Languages : Portuguese, Guaraní and

SpanishLand : 7,941,856 sq. miles, 59% of its total

landmass4th largest trading bloc in the world after

EU, NAFTA, ASEAN (2010)

Current News

Mercosur Signs Trade Deal with Palestinian Authority

This is the first trade deal between the Palestinian territories and a bloc of nations outside the Arab world