Mercosur

The creation of MERCOSUR is based on the experience of the Latin American Integration Association, and motivated by the rapprochement between Brazil and Argentina in order to promote regional trade. In 1990, the relationship between these two countries resulted in the Buenos Aires Act, in which the economies decided to form a Common Market. In 1991, Paraguay and Uruguay joined the process to form a Common Market through the Treaty of Asunción. However, it was on December 17, 1994 that MERCOSUR gained legal personality under international law. With the advance of globalization and the increase in economic interdependence, international crises in the world’s largest economies have had an effect on different regions, and especially on the trade policies of developing countries. Thus, the paper sought to analyze MERCOSUR’s trade evolution, with emphasis on the effects caused by the Asian Crisis (1997), the Russian Crisis (1998) and the International Financial Crisis (2008).