Mercosur Umarova TAMILA MXI-21

Mercosur, Mercosul or Ñemby Ñemuha (Spanish: Mercado Común del Sur, Portuguese: Mercado Comum do Sul, Guarani: Ñemby Ñemuha, Southern Common Market) is a sub-regional bloc. Its full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuelais a full member but has been suspended since December 1, 2016.PortugueseGuaraniArgentinaBrazilParaguayUruguayVenezuela It sassociate countries are Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Suriname. [7] Observer countries are New Zealand and Mexico. [8][9]BoliviaChilePeruColombiaEcuadorSuriname [7]Observer countriesNew ZealandMexico [8][9]

Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency. The official languages are Spanish, Portuguese, and Guarani. [10] Since its foundation in 1991/4, Mercosur's functions have been updated, amended, and changed many times. It is now a full customs union and a trading bloc. Mercosur and the Andean Community of Nations are customs unions that are components of a continuing process of South American integration connected to the Union of South American Nations (USAN).free tradeGuarani [10]customs uniontrading blocAndean Community of NationsintegrationUnion of South American Nations

Mercosur was established in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Mercosur originated in 1988, when presidents Raúl Alfonsín of Argentina and José Sarney of Brazil signed the Argentina-Brazil Integration and Economics Cooperation Program or PICE (Portuguese: Programa de Integração e Cooperação Econômica Argentina-Brasil, Spanish: Programa de Integración y Cooperación Económica Argentina- Brasil). [11] The protocol Number 20 of the program also proposed the Gaucho as a currency for regional trade. [12]Treaty of AsunciónTreaty of Ouro PretoRaúl AlfonsínJosé Sarney [11]Gaucho [12] The founding of the Mercosur Parliament was agreed upon at the December 2004 presidential summit. Up to 2010 it was planned to have 18 representatives from each country, regardless of population. [13]Mercosur Parliament [13]

Mercosur is composed of 5 sovereign member states: Argentina; Brazil; Paraguay; Uruguay and Venezuela (suspended since December, 2016); and a state in process of incorporation, Bolivia (since July 17, 2015) [22][better source needed]sovereign [22]better source needed Following the impeachment of President Fernando Lugo by the Paraguayan Senate, this country was suspended from Mercosur, and the admittance of Venezuela as a full member became effective on 31 July [6] Venezuela had four years to fully adapt to the trade bloc regulations [23] and failed to do so, with the nation being suspended from Mercosur on 1 December [21]impeachment of President Fernando Lugo [6] [23] [21]

Directly subordinated to the Common Market Group, the Work Subgroups draw up the minutes of the decisions to submit for the consideration of the Council, and study specific Mercosur concerns. The work subgroups are: Commercial matters Customs matters Technical standards Tax and monetary policies relating to trade Land transport Sea transport Industrial and technology policies Agricultural policy Energy policy Coordination of macroeconomic policies Labor, employment and social security matters Work subgroups are held quarterly, alternating in every member state, in alphabetical order, or at the Common Market Group Administrative Office. Activities are carried out by the Work Subgroups in two stages: preparatory and conclusive. In the preparatory stage, members of the Work Subgroups may request the participation of representatives from the private sector of each member state. The decision- making stage is reserved exclusively for official representatives of the member states. The delegations of representatives from the private sector in the preparatory stage of the Work Subgroup activities will have a maximum of three representatives for each member state directly involved in any of the stages of the production, distribution or consumption process for the products that fall within the scope of the subgroup's activities.,

The member states can assess merchandise from these areas with the common external tariff used for Mercosur merchandise, or, in the case of certain special products, the domestic tariff prevailing in each individual state. In this way, the products from the free-trade zones can have the more favorable tax treatment established under Southern Common Market, given to the merchandise produced in the normal customs zones of each member state or, in the case of certain special products, can have the normal customs treatment prevailing in each nation. Products coming from outside of Mercosur are highly taxed so that local companies do not feel the need to compete with large international companies.

The Asunción Treaty and Ouro Preto Protocol established the basis for the institutional Mercosur structure, creating the Common Market Council and the Common Market Group, both of which function at the outset of the transition phase. As provided for in this Treaty, before establishing the common market the member nations must call a special meeting to determine the definitive institutional structure for the public agencies managing Mercosur, as well as define the specific functions of each agency and the decision making process.