MERCOSUR: Regional Integration, World Markets (original) (raw)

The New Regionalism in the Americas: The Case of Mercosur

Journal of Economic Integration, 2001

This paper takes seriously the recent claim made by Ethier (1998) that the New Regionalism reflects the success of the multilateral trading system, not its failure. In fact, the New Regionalism represents a qualitative departure of the old regionalism in several respects, in particular, its development has taken place in a very different international economic environment. Moreover, the traditional Vinerian paradigm is no longer the primary analytical framework for its evaluation. We use this novel approach to analyze the case of one of the most important experiences in regional integration, the formation of the Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR). The paper carefully documents the main stylized facts of the development of MERCOSUR arguing that this makes this type of agreement a prime example of the New Regionalism. Our conclusions are consistent with Ethier's paper, that is, regionalism can play a key role in expanding and preserving the liberal trade order.

Paths to Regional Integration: The Case of MERCOSUR

On November 9, 2000, the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Latin American Program hosted the conference, “Paths to Regional Power: The Case of MERCOSUR.” The conference brought together key policymakers and policy analysts from Latin America and the United States to discuss the implications of regional integration, drawing on the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) as a case study. The seminar focused on MERCOSUR’s development, economic and political importance, and efforts to effect a “relaunching” of the common market enterprise. This volume includes several of the papers presented at the conference which address topics such as: where does MERCOSUR stand today and where is it heading; what are the economic and political implications of MERCOSUR; and, how does MERCOSUR relate to other integration efforts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or the European Union (EU). Although these papers were written before the present crisis in Argentina, the lessons they offer provide great insight into the contemporary status of MERCOSUR.

Is a strengthening south-south regional integration possible? The case of Mercosur and Latin America

This article will look at the structural difficulties that regional integration faces in Latin America and in particular will analyze the evolution and prospects of Mercosur. It will show that regional integration could only fully develop at the end of the Cold War but this period coincided with the adoption of the Washington Consensus and that meant that the largest Latin American economies renounced to a substantial part of their import substitution industrialization policies. The global economic context reinforced the specialization of Mercosur and the rest of South American economies on commodities and energy sectors. This has generated a higher macroeconomic instability and more tensions between the member States of the Mercosur. It has also weakened the lobby of industrialists in shaping economic policies. The relative weakness of the industry in this region explains why the enterprise-driven regionalization will be weaker than in other regional integration processes such as the EU, NAFTA or ASEAN where it played a decisive role in the deepening of the economic integration.

Mercosur and the European Union: Comparative Regionalism and Interregionalism

The Oxford Encyclopedia of European Union Politics, 2021

Integration attempts in Latin America have historically been linked to the European experience. Transatlantic influence has gone from policy learning through institutional mimicry to direct funding. Modern Latin American regionalism dates back to 1960, when the Central American Common Market and the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) were founded. Both associations were a response to the creation of the European Economic Community in 1957 and the fear that “Fortress Europe” would cut extra-regional markets off, so alternatives should be developed. The Latin American blocs aspired to overcome the small size of the national markets by fostering economies of scale. Shortly thereafter, European-born, U.S.-based political scientist Ernst Haas—jointly with Philippe Schmitter—put to the test the neofunctionalist theory he had developed for Europe to analyze Central American integration, correctly diagnosing the latter’s limitations and forecasting its setbacks. LAFTA also faltered and failed and, in 1980, the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI by its Spanish acronym) replaced it. A decade later, ALADI would become Mercosur’s umbrella organization. After the third wave of democratization, which in Latin America started in 1978, new attempts at regional integration took hold, and Mercosur was initially considered as the most successful. Successive leaders of the European Union (EU) nurtured big hopes and devoted a great deal of attention to EU–Mercosur relations, first assisting with integration technology, material resources, and intellectual guidance and, since 1995, conducting several rounds of negotiations to strike a trade deal. The path that had led to Mercosur resembled that of the EU, as it started in 1985 with functional and sectoral integration (wheat and oil prominently, in place of coal and steel) around the Argentina–Brazil axis. A few years later, in 1991, the binational association was opened up to Paraguay and Uruguay and transformed itself into a typical Balassa-like organization, prioritizing broader market integration over focused sectoral integration—just like the Treaty of Rome had done in Europe. Intra-regional trade tripled during the first seven years, but it later stagnated and never bounced back. As a result, the member states decided to up the rhetorical ante and broaden the areas encompassed by the organization rather than fostering economic interdependence or deepening the level of regional authority. An optional tribunal and a powerless parliament were established in 2002 and 2005 respectively. The outcome was grim: more institutions on paper did not enhance performance in practice. Having exhausted the internal agenda, the external agenda remained the only one where positive developments were still expected. In 2019, after twenty years of bumping negotiations, a political agreement on a comprehensive trade deal was reached with the European Union, Mercosur’s role model and largest trade partner. If this agreement is signed and ratified, it will become the largest interregional arrangement ever.

RESHAPING REGIONALISM AND REGIONAL COOPERATION IN

Pensamiento Propio , mayo de 2014 RESUMEN This article revises the reshaping of regional cooperation in South America.In the first section I bring to the fore the changed global scenario that has exponentially amplified the room to manoeuvre and allowed distancing from the Washington Consensus. In the second section I describe the variety of initiatives that cut across the region. In the subsequent sections I analyse and contrast the ALBA initiative and the Union of South American Nations. Finally some conclusions are offered. By looking at a set of new foundational ideas and institutions, from new continental redefinitions under UNASUR and ALBA to re-territorialized management of natural resources, defence and currency and payments arrangements, I ask how these steps are reshaping regional cooperation and what they mean for the way we understand regionalism as expanding away from erstwhile trade integration.