Mercosur

That is the MERCOSUR?

Is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela; with Bolivia becoming an accessing member on 7 December 2012 to be ratifiedby the Member State's legislatures. It was established in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto.

Aims of the MERCOSUR

Its purposeis to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency. The official languages are Guaraní, Portuguese and Spanish. It has been updated, amended, and changed many times since.It is now a full customs union. 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 SouthAmerican Nations.



Member states of MERCOSUR

Mercosur is composed of 5 sovereign member states: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. Bolivia is an accessing member sinceDecember 7, 2012. 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 effectiveJuly 31, 2012. In four years, Venezuela will have to fully adapt to the trade bloc regulations.



Geography of MERCOSUR

The territory of Mercosur consists of the combined territories of fiveof the twelve countries of South America and their population. Including the overseas territories of member states, Mercosur experiences most types of climate from Arctic to tropical, renderingmeteorological averages for Mercosur as a whole meaningless. The majority of the population lives in areas with a subtropical climate (Uruguay, Southern Paraguay, Northeastern Argentina and Southern andSoutheastern Brazil), or a tropical climate (Venezuela and Northeastern Brazil).



Free trade zones

The member nations can have commercial free-trade zones, industrial free-trade zones,...