NEWS
- 28 April | India to Witness Deadliest Event of World History Mega El Nino Click Here →
- 15 April | The 3-Attempt Strategy No One Talks About | How He Scored 420+ in GS Click Here →
- 30 March | The Honest UPSC Talk Nobody Tells You Click Here to see Abhijit Asokan AIR 234 talk →
News: Recently, India and Brazil agreed to significantly expand their existing trade agreement with the MERCOSUR regional trade bloc.
About MERCOSUR Grouping
- MERCOSUR: MERCOSUR stands for Mercado Común del Sur, which means “Common Market of the South” in Spanish. It is a regional trade bloc of South American countries.
- Established: It was established in 1991 through the signing of the Treaty of Asunción.
- Aim: The grouping aims to ensure the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people, and it became a customs union in January 1995.
- Members:
- Founding Members: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay were the founding members.
- Later Members: Bolivia and Venezuela joined MERCOSUR later, (Venezuela has remained suspended from the grouping since December , 2016.)
- Associate Members: Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname are associate members and participate in activities and meetings of the bloc.
- Headquarters: The headquarters is located in Montevideo, Uruguay.
- Key Aspects:
- Integrated Market: MERCOSUR is the fourth largest integrated market after the European Union (EU), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and ASEAN.
- International Cooperation: The bloc has signed commercial, political, and cooperation agreements with several countries and organizations across all five continents.
- Official Languages: Spanish and Portuguese are the official working languages of the bloc, while Guarani was added as one of its languages in 2006.
- Governance Structure:
- Composition: The Common Market Council includes foreign and economic ministers of member states.
- Decision-Making: The Council takes decisions through consensus among member countries.
- Rotating Presidency: The presidency of the bloc rotates every six months among full members.
- Critical Mineral Resources: MERCOSUR countries possess critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements that are important for Europe’s industrial and clean energy ambitions.
