The Argentine Republic, or simply Argentina, is a federal republic in the southern part of South America. The country is bordered by Chile to the west, Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil to the northeast, and Uruguay to the east. Argentina is the second largest country in Latin America, the eighth largest country, and the largest Spanish-speaking community in the world.
Argentina's economy is the second largest in South America and the third largest in Latin America. Argentina is one of the major economies of the G-20 and has shown very mixed economic performance in the past. The country, which was the seventh richest country in the world at the beginning of the 20th century, has since experienced severe recessions, unequal income distribution and increasing poverty. Argentina is a founding member of international organizations such as the UN, WTO, WBG and OAS. Since 2002 the country has emphasized its role in the integration of Latin America and sees a common supranational bloc as its most important international priority.
In order to promote its export and foreign relations, Argentina is involved in various trade unions and free trade agreements.
Mercosur
Mercosur is a customs union consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela (the last six countries later joined the customs union as associate members). New Zealand and Mexico are currently observer states. Mercosur came into force in 1991 and currently represents 72% of the South American territory and 70% of the population. The key to the integration process of Mercosur is the cooperation between Argentina and Brazil, which includes a traditional customs union as well as military and political elements. Argentina's intra-Mercosur trade rose dramatically from $ 4 billion in 1991 to $ 23 billion seven years later. By 2011, trade reached $ 44 billion, which is 28% of total Argentine trade). Over 90% of trade within Mercosur is duty-free.
Mercosur - Andean Community
As a customs union, Mercosur has concluded numerous free trade agreements. One of the most important is the Mercosur - Andean Community of Nations agreement concluded in 2004 with the main objective of liberalizing trade between the two blocs. As a result of this agreement, on July 7, 2005, all four Member States of Mercosur, including Argentina, became associate members of the Andean Community.
Mercosur - European Union
Argentina is currently negotiating a trade agreement with the EU together with the three other Mercosur member states within the framework of a bi-regional association agreement. Trade between Mercosur and the EU is currently regulated by the “Interregional Framework Cooperation Agreement”, which was set up in 1999. The free trade negotiations between the EU and Mercosur have been taking place for some time, with a break between 2012 and 2016.
Argentina as part of Mercosur has signed further free trade agreements with Israel (2007), India (2009), Egypt (2010), the State of Palestine (2011) and Lebanon (2014) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). .
ALADI
The Latin American Integration Association, or ALADI, is a regional organization founded on August 12, 1980 by the Montevideo Treaty, which replaced the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA). Currently, ALADI covers Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia, Cuba, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Mexico and Venezuela and covers more than 20 million square kilometers and over 455 million people. The general goal of ALADI is to establish economic preferences within the region that creates a common Latin American market. This is done through three mechanisms: a regional tariff preference, regional-scope agreements, and partial-scope agreements.
UNASUR
Union of South American Nations or USAN (UNASUR in Spanish) is an intergovernmental regional organization that together comprises 12 South American states: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela. The USANUR treaty was signed in 2008 and since then the member states have announced their intention to develop a community modeled on the EU, including a common market and currency, a parliament and a passport.
GSTP
The Global System of Trade Preferences between Developing Countries is a preferential trade agreement concluded on April 13, 1988 to promote trade between developing countries and was launched as part of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Founding member states are Cuba, India, Bangladesh, Ghana, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Argentina became a member of the GSTP on July 16, 1989, along with other countries. A preferential trade agreement or area is a trade bloc that defines preferential access to certain products from the member countries. In contrast to free trade agreements, PTA reduces tariffs instead of completely eliminating them. It is generally the first step in economic integration and almost all PTAs are established with the main aim of becoming a free trade area.
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