Mercosur Mercosur has been called the “Common Market of the South.” It was created by the 1991 Treaty of Asuncion with the goal of allowing free trade between member state and ultimately European Common style integration. It is the largest trading bloc in South America. Members include Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Venezuela’s entry as a full member is still pending ratification. Mercosur has five associate members; Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The associate members are not entitled to full voting rights or complete access to the markets of Mercosur’s full members. However, associate members receive tariff reductions, but are not required to impose the common external tariff that applies to full Mercosur members. Of these countries, Bolivia is being considered for full membership. Mercosur’s charter forbids bilateral agreements with nonmember countries, which has put it on a collision course with US policy that supports bilateral FTAs and related agreements. The issue threatens unity in the group as Uruguay has already signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) that could lead to a full FTA. Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) In May of 2008, a potentially rival trade bloc to Mercosur was formed. The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) was created along the lines of the European Union seeking to introduce a wide range of initiatives to the continent. The UNASUR treaty was signed in Brasilia by the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela. UNASUR aims at the cultural, social, economical and political integration of the South American peoples.

 The UNASUR charter proposes a South American Parliament based in Cochabamba, Bolivia, while the headquarters of the Union will be established in Quito, Ecuador.
 The first UNASUR summit was held in Bariloche, Argentina on August 28th, 2009. The doctrine of UNASUR appears to be widening beyond trade issues. A particular thorny problem for the organization is Colombia’s relationship with Ecuador and Venezuela. Andean Community (CAN) The Andean Community (formerly the Andean Pact) was founded as trade pact in 1976, the original members included Boliva, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. Venezuela was added later. Subsequently, both Chile and Venezuela left the agreement. The organization has a reciprocal arrangement with Mercosur and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay are associate members. Mercosur granted associate membership to all Andean nations that inked Economic Complementarity Agreements (Free Trade Agreements) with members. At this stage, it’s unclear how the Andean Community will work within the UNASUR framework. Caribbean Community (Caricom) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), is an organization of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. The organization grew out of the Caribbean Free Trade Association. The idea was to form a single market economy emphasizing free trade between the member nations. Beyond economic integration the group coordinates foreign policy. Caricom has a major hand in development planning for the Caribbean region. One interesting aspect of Caricom is that it divides oragnization into Less Developed Countries (LDCs) and More Developed Countries (MDCs). The secretariat headquarters is based in Georgetown, Guyana. Full members include: Antigua & Burbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Hati, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago. Associate members include: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos Islands.