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Mercosur is a regional intergovernmental agreement concluded in 1991 that aims to facilitate the free flow of goods, services, capital, and people between its member states.
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In its essence, this is the overall objective of any trading bloc. Mercosur is a trading bloc, but what exactly does this mean? Mercosur’s main goal is to enhance economic and social development by integrating the national economies of its partner countries for international trade and investment purposes. Before we explore further benefits of a potential trade agreement between Canada and Mercosur, let’s look at the trading bloc’s history to understand how we got to where we are today.
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With the Mercosur-Canada Free Trade Agreement, these tariffs could be reduced or eliminated. For example, as of now the Mercosur trading bloc has set external tariffs up to 35 percent on goods such as forestry products, fish and seafood, automobiles, plastics, machinery, and telecommunications technology. companies to expand their businesses on an international scale. goods could become more competitive in South America, creating opportunities for B.C. Mercosur, the Spanish abbreviation for Southern Common Market, includes four partner countries: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.Īn agreement with Mercosur would reduce tariffs on Canadian goods being exported to those markets. With its massive GDP and a population of roughly 295 million inhabitants, Mercosur is the fifth largest economy in the world.Īs it turns out, Canada is negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Mercosur trading bloc that will provide numerous economic benefits to B.C. A figure of that magnitude is difficult to visualize, but it represents the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the South American trading bloc and customs union known as Mercosur. Three trillion dollars is a large number.
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