Mercosur

Mercosur or Mercosul, officially the Common Market of the South, Latin American trade organization established in 1991 to increase economic cooperation among the countries of E South America. It is commonly known as Mercosur or Mercosul from the Spanish and Portuguese names, respectively, for the organization. Full members now include Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay; Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela (which will become a full member once all four full members ratify its accession) are associate members. The headquarters are in Montevideo, Uruguay. Mercosur is gradually eliminating tariffs between member states and at the same time aiming for a low common external duty, and trade between its members has greatly expanded since 1991. A Mercosur parliament was established in 2007.

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