<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <title>Summit of the Americas Center at AmericasNet.Net: Florida International University - Miami, Florida</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <link href="../css/soac.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> </head> <body bgcolor="#1D2D63" text="#153382" link="#153382" vlink="#153382" alink="#153382" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"> <font face="Verdana"> <img border="0" src="../images/spacer.gif" width="92" height="18"></font><table width="725" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <table width="723" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><font face="Verdana"><img src="../images/nav/header_summit.gif" width="251" height="27"><a href="http://www.americasnet.net"><img src="../images/nav/sub3-02.gif" border="0" width="472" height="27"></a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td><font face="Verdana"><img src="../images/nav/header_summit2.gif" width="251" height="79"><a href="index.htm"><img src="../images/trade_arrow_down.gif" border="0" width="85" height="79"></a><a href="../democracy/index.htm"><img src="../images/nav/sub3-06.gif" border="0" width="100" height="79"></a><a href="../development/index.htm"><img src="../images/nav/sub3-07.gif" border="0" width="101" height="79"></a><a href="../security/index.htm"><img src="../images/nav/sub3-08.gif" border="0" width="99" height="79"></a><a href="../index.htm"><img src="../images/nav/sub3-09.gif" border="0" width="87" height="79"></a></font></td> </tr> </table> <table width="723" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/nav/sub3-10.gif" width="199" height="36"></font></td> <td colspan="2" valign="top" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><div align="right"> <font face="Verdana"><a href="trade_index.htm"> <img src="../images/nav/sub3-11.gif" border="0" width="524" height="36"></a></font></div></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <td valign="top" bgcolor="#F2F2F2">&nbsp;</td> <td valign="top" background="../images/fold_bg_horiz.gif"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/fold.gif" width="21" height="21"><img src="../images/nav/spacer.gif" width="379" height="9"></font></td> <td valign="middle" background="../images/fold_bg_horiz.gif"> <table width="115" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <td width="20" background="../images/nav/spacer.gif"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/nav/back_arrow.gif" width="20" height="15"></font></td> <td width="133" valign="middle" background="../images/nav/spacer.gif"><a href="index.htm" class="text"> <font face="Verdana">introduction</font></a></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <td width="198" valign="top" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <div align="center"> <table width="182" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr bgcolor="#273B84"> <td>&nbsp;</td> <td valign="middle" class="menuwhite"><font face="Verdana">trade &amp; integration:</font></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <td bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> <td valign="middle" bgcolor="#F2F2F2" class="menuwhite"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="29" bgcolor="#002D62"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/menu_arrow.gif" width="20" height="15"></font></td> <td width="169" valign="middle" bgcolor="#002D62"> <font face="Verdana"> <a class="menuwhite" href="commentaries.htm">commentaries</a></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> <td valign="middle" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="29" bgcolor="#002D62"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/menu_arrow_double.gif" width="20" height="30"></font></td> <td width="169" valign="middle" bgcolor="#002D62"> <a style="text-decoration: none" href="map.htm"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 9pt" color="#FFFFFF"> map of hemispheric trade agreements</font></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> <td valign="middle" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#002D62"> <td><font face="Verdana"><img src="../images/menu_arrow.gif" width="20" height="15"></font></td> <td valign="middle"><a href="ftaa.htm" class="menuwhite"> <font face="Verdana">ftaa - alca</font></a></td> </tr> <tr bordercolor="#F2F2F2" bgcolor="#002D62"> <td bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> <td valign="middle" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#002D62"> <td><font face="Verdana"><img src="../images/menu_arrow.gif" width="20" height="15"></font></td> <td valign="middle"><a href="nafta.htm" class="menuwhite"> <font face="Verdana">nafta</font></a></td> </tr> <tr bordercolor="#F2F2F2" bgcolor="#002D62"> <td bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> <td valign="middle" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#002D62"> <td><font face="Verdana"><img src="../images/menu_arrow.gif" width="20" height="15"></font></td> <td valign="middle"><a href="mercosur.htm" class="menuwhite"> <font face="Verdana">mercosur</font></a></td> </tr> <tr bordercolor="#F2F2F2" bgcolor="#002D62"> <td bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> <td valign="middle" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#002D62"> <td><font face="Verdana"><img src="../images/menu_arrow.gif" width="20" height="15"></font></td> <td valign="middle"><a href="others.htm" class="menuwhite"> <font face="Verdana">other trade groups</font></a></td> </tr> <tr bordercolor="#F2F2F2" bgcolor="#002D62"> <td bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> <td valign="middle" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#002D62"> <td><font face="Verdana"><img src="../images/menu_arrow.gif" width="20" height="15"></font></td> <td valign="middle"><a href="china_la.htm" class="menuwhite"> <font face="Verdana">china and latin america</font></a></td> </tr> <tr bordercolor="#F2F2F2" bgcolor="#002D62"> <td bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> <td valign="middle" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#002D62"> <td><font face="Verdana"><img src="../images/menu_arrow.gif" width="20" height="15"></font></td> <td valign="middle"><a href="civil.htm" class="menuwhite"> <font face="Verdana">civil society</font></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> <td valign="middle" bgcolor="#F2F2F2"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td bgcolor="#002D62"><font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/menu_arrow.gif" width="20" height="15"></font></td> <td valign="middle" bgcolor="#002D62"> <font face="Verdana"> <a class="menuwhite" target="_self" href="archives.htm">archives</a></font></td> </tr> </table> <font face="Verdana"> <br /> <br /> </font> <table width="182" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="219"> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </td> <td colspan="2" valign="top" background="../images/fold_bg_vert.gif"> <table width="508" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="488" background="../images/spacer.gif"> <p> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/mercosur.gif" width="400" height="50"></font></p> <p style="line-height: 150%" class="text"> <font face="Verdana" style="font-size: 9pt"> <strong>OVERVIEW</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Type of Agreement Free Trade Area and Customs Union. <br /> Members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. <br /> <br /> Representative Market 200 million people. <br /> Effective Date/Period January 1, 1995/Indefinite. <br /> Objective To create a common southern cone market. Analysts expect full integration to occur sometime after 2001. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>KEY ISSUES</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>EXPORTERS</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Customs Surtaxes Removed effective December 31, 1994 <br /> Single or Various Tariff Reduction Schedules Single: Yes. Various: In terms of number of exceptions allowed by the agreement to each country. <br /> MFN Treatment for Tariffs Sectoral Safeguard; Exchange Rate Movements. <br /> Customs Code Mercosur common customs code. <br /> Sectoral Safeguard Exchange Rate Movements; NA </font> </p> <p style="line-height: 150%" class="text"> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>SERVICES</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Temporary Entry of Business Persons, Servic Providers/Investors Not covered. <br /> Professional Services Liberalization in service trade has not been negotiated yet. <br /> Financial Services Adoption of the Basle Committee regulations on financial institutions. <br /> Transportation Services Not covered. </font> </p> <p style="line-height: 150%" class="text"> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>MANUFACTURING/PRODUCTION</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Drawbacks Yes. Efforts underway by members to harmonize drawback regimes. <br /> Duty-free Zones and Cross-Border Assembly Plants No. Exceptions are Manaos and Tierra del Fuego. Allows free trade zones to produce and sell production until 2003. <br /> National Treatment Provisions Yes: Technical Standards. No: Plant and Animal Health Statistics. <br /> Rules of Origin Requirements Yes. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>TRADE ASPECTS</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">The main topics up for discussion at the meetings of the Council (CMC) and the Group (GMC) in Asunci&oacute;n are as follows:</font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Intellectual Property</strong> </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Adoption of a &quot;Protocol for Harmonization of Intellectual Property Rights, Trademarks and Origins&quot;. This protocol will include in the future additional regulations on other aspects such as design and copyright. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Competition Law</strong> </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Definition of a transition period for a standardization of rules. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Consumer Relations</strong> </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">International jurisdiction in matters of consumer relations. It gives the consumer in any of the Mercosur countries the right to sue for compensation, regardless of the purchase origin. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Safeguards</strong> </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Definition of a transition period until 2001 for the standardization of rules which apply to products origination in third countries. The Treaty of Asunci&oacute;n forbids the use of safeguards by its parties. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Consumer Protection</strong> </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Five sections of the Consumer Protection Code were approved. An institutional framework is to be devised or its implementation.<br /> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>TRADE RELATIONSHIPS</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>European Union </strong> </font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Institutional Agreements EU/Mercosur signed in Santiago in May 1992 (establishing regular co-operation between the two groups). </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">The &#8216;Solemn Joint Declaration&#8217;, signed in Brussels in December 1994 by the European Council and Mercosur member states, by which the parties agree to sign an Economic and Commercial Co-operation Inter regional Framework Agreement by the end of 1995. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Economic and Trade Co-operation Agreement between Mercosur and European Union, signed on 15 December 1995. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>United States </strong> </font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">USA proposal for a Hemispheric Free Trade Area based on two approaches: the Initiative for the Americas (IFA) and the NAFTA. In the IFA context, a free trade area ranging from Alaska to Patagonia was proposed. As a preliminary, the USA signed &#8216;Framework Agreements&#8217; with Mercosur, Caricom and other Latin American and Caribbean countries. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">The Rose garden Agreement (or 4 + 1 Agreement) was signed with the Governments of the countries of Mercosur on the 19th of June 1991, setting up a forum for consultation on trade and investments. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">In December 1994, in Miami, at a Summit meeting (Summit of the Americas) with all Latin American Heads of State (with the exception of Cuba) USA and Canada, negotiations started aiming at a free trade agreement by the year 2005. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>NAFTA</strong> </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">There have been no formal agreements between Mercosur and NAFTA. Brazil welcomes the idea of gradual integration between countries or groups of countries, so that the integration process may evolve towards the creation of a large free trade area. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Discussions about NAFTA have assumed greater relevance as a result of the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, the invitation to Chile to join, and the movement toward an FTAA after the Miami Summit. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">The Treaty of Asunci&oacute;n is convergent with both Hemispheric and South American integration, but it is an independent project in its scope and purpose. Unlike NAFTA, Mercosur is a Customs Union with a common external tarrif. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Free trade Area of the Americas </strong> </font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">In 1994, Brazil proposed setting up a &#8216;web&#8217; of free trade agreements with neighboring South American countries. Negotiations have been carried out, jointly, by all Mercosur members to establish FTAs with the other South American countries or sub-regional groups of countries in ten years. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">In 1996, free trade agreements with Chile and with Bolivia were signed. In 1997, other free trade agreements between Mercosur and the remaining Andean Pact member countries (Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador) are expected to be signed. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Other Areas of Foreign Negotiations </strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Mercosur has also started to develop closer co-operation and exploratory contacts with ASEAN/APEC, with SADC, India, Japan, CIR (Russia), CER (New Zealand and Australia).<br /> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>PROGRAM OF ACTION FOR MERCOSUR TO THE YEAR 2000 </strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">In December 1995, at a meeting held in Montevideo, the Mercosur countries set out a program of action with guidelines for future negotiations and specified goals for the year 2000. Regional integration must deepen through full implementation and the perfecting of the Customs Union in the context of open regionalism. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Before the year 2000, the Mercosur countries will reflect on the need for new institutions, as a consequence of the evolution of Customs Union as a process towards the achievement of the Common Market.<br /> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>MERCOSUR and Its Origins</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><br /> The Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) is an ambitious economic integration project in which Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay find themselves engaged. Its principal objectives are: to improve the economies of their countries by making them more efficient and competitive and by enlarging their markets and accelerating their economic development by means of a more efficient use of available resources; to preserve the environment; to improve communications; to coordinate macroeconomic policies; and to harmonize the different sectors of the economies of the member countries. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Mercosur is currently the fourth largest economic bloc in the world with more than US$750 billion GNP and over 220 million inhabitants. This is more than 58 percent of the entire Latin American GNP, and over half of the region's population. Since1994, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay have been united in Mercosur, and Chile and Bolivia recently became associated members. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">A &quot;four plus one&quot; free trade agreement, between the MERCOSUR countries and Chile, became effective October 1, 1996. A free trade agreement between MERCOSUR and Bolivia entered into force April 1, 1997. MERCOSUR is negotiating association arrangements with other Andean countries and Mexico. MERCOSUR members also are participating as one body in the process leading toward a Free</font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Trade Area of the Americas.</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Eighty percent of the major companies in Latin America are settled in Mercosur. The principal trade and investment partner is by far the European Union, with which Mercosur has a 'bilateral' trade agreement. An older agreement with the United States called '4+1' never really prospered. In addition to WTO regulations, however, these agreements have become an important framework for the Mercosur 'club' to better service the needs and requirements of Northern powers and their elites.</font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Administrative Structure </strong> </font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">The governing body of Mercosur is the Common Market Council, consisting of the member states' ministers of foreign relations and economy. It is responsible for political leadership and decision making to ensure compliance with the objectives and the time frames set within the agreement. The executive body of Mercosur is the Common Market Group, which is composed of 16 members and represents the foreign relations offices, the economic ministries, and the central banks of the member states. The Common Market Group has established an administrative headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay, and has already appointed 11 working groups to deal with policy matters. A Mercosur Trade Commission will monitor trade regulations among members and be vested with the authority to review claims and mediate disputes. According to the terms of the Brasilia Protocol, final settlement of disputes among members will be through arbitration. This administrative body will also serve as Mercosur's negotiating unit with other nations and trade blocs.</font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Although the final target of Mercosur is to become a common market with free movement of all productive and financial resources, as well as have a common trade policy, which will demand the coordination of macroeconomic policies and the harmonization of legislation, since January 1995, with the gradual elimination of regional tariffs and a common external tariff, Mercosur really operates as a customs union. Obviously there are also Lists of Exceptions and a Transition Regime for sensitive areas which extend until 2006.</font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Since the signing of the Asunci&oacute;n Treaty in 1991 inter regional trade has almost tripled from 5,1 billion US dollars to 14,38 billion in 1995, while trade with the rest of the world increased from 67 to 120 billion US dollars.</font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Intraregional Trade and Investment</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><br /> Trade between the four member countries has grown sharply. In the period 1990-1994, the value of intraregional trade nearly tripled, from US$4.1 billion to US$10.7 billion. This growth partly reflects the progress made under the Trade Liberalization Program, as well as the gradual elimination of non-tariff restraints to reciprocal trade and an increase in trade and production initiatives among entrepreneurs in the region. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">In 1994, intraregional exports increased for the fifth consecutive year, to nearly one-fifth of the combined value of exports of the four countries, well up from a level of under 9 per cent in 1990. This performance confirms the trend in recent years in which MERCOSUR has consolidated its position as the principal trading partner of Paraguay and Uruguay and the principal market for Argentine exports. The sustained increase in intraregional exports is attributable to the fact that between 1990 and 1993 sales of manufactured products soared at an average annual clip of 43 per cent, to an estimated US$6.2 billion by 1993, or more than 60 per cent of trade within MERCOSUR. </font> </p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Intra-Hemispheric Exports by Destination, 1997</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana"><strong>Exporting Group</strong></font></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Destination % Variation 1996-97 In Millions Distribution % <br /> MERCOSUR 19.6 20,339 24.7 <br /> MERCOSUR + Chile + Bolivia 18.0 24,434 29.7 <br /> Andean Community 21.3 3,799 4.6 <br /> G-3 17.2 2,838 3.5 <br /> ALADI 17.6 28,185 34.3 <br /> </font> <span class="text"><font face="Verdana">C.A.C.M. 21.5 296 0.4 <br /> Latin America (3) 18.4 28,881 35.1 <br /> CARICOM -6.3 152 0.2 <br /> NAFTA 3.6 13,373 16.3 <br /> Hemisphere 13.2 41,372 50.3 <br /> Total World 9.8 82,267 100.0<br /> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></span></p> <p class="text" style="line-height: 150%"><font face="Verdana">Sources: The Portable Encyclopedia for Doing Business with Argentina<br /> Economic Report from Uruguayan Embassy <a target="_blank" href="http://embasy.org/uruguay/econ/mercosur/">http://embasy.org/uruguay/econ/mercosur/</a><br /> Mercopress Online<br /> Friends of the Earth-Uruguay<br /> Interamerican Development Bank<br /> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------</font></p> <p> <font face="Verdana"> <br /> </font> </p></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> </table> <table width="712" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr valign="top"> <td width="196" valign="top" bgcolor="#E9E9E9"> <table width="186" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"> <tr> <td width="176"><p><span class="credits"><font face="Verdana">Summit of the Americas Center<br /> Florida International University<br /> University Park, Miami, Fl.<br /> (305) 348-2894<br /> <br /> Email SOAC: </font> <a href="mailto:summit@fiu.edu"> <font face="Verdana">summit@fiu.edu</font></a></span><font face="Verdana"><br /> </font> </p></td> </tr> </table> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="199" height="10"> </font> </td> <td width="516" background="../images/fold_bg_vert.gif" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <table width="524" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="25" background="../images/bg_horiz_dots.gif"> <font face="Verdana"><img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="26" height="1"></font></td> <td width="499" background="../images/bg_horiz_dots.gif"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td background="../images/fold_bg_vert.gif">&nbsp;</td> <td background="../images/spacer.gif" class="textbold"> <font face="Verdana">more links &amp; resources:</font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25" background="../images/bg_horiz_dots.gif"> <font face="Verdana"><img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="25" height="1"></font></td> <td background="../images/bg_horiz_dots.gif"> <font face="Verdana"> <img src="../images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></font></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="25" background="../images/fold_bg_vert.gif"> <font face="Verdana">&nbsp; </font> </td> <td valign="top" background="../images/spacer.gif" class="text"> <p style="line-height: 150%"> <font face="Verdana"><span style="font-size: 8pt">- <a href="archives.htm">Archives</a><br /> - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mercosul.org.uy">Mercosur Official Website</a><br /> - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mercopress.com/Detalle.asp?NUM=3773"> EU-Mercosur headed for  light agreement</a><br /> - <a target="_top" href="../news/EU_latam.pdf">EU, Latam bloc delay offers in tough trade talks</a><br /> - <a target="_top" href="../news/mexico_says.pdf">Mexico Says Wants to Join Mercosur Trade Bloc</a><br /> - <a target="_top" href="../news/EU_reaches.pdf">EU Reaches out to Mercosur</a><br /> - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sice.oas.org/tradee.asp">OAS Trade Unit</a><br /> - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.natlaw.com/treaties.htm">National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade</a><br /> - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.idrc.ca/lacro/investigacion/mercosur.html">International Development Research Center (IDRC)</a><br /> - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.rau.edu.uy/mercosur/">Red Académica Uruguaya</a> <br /> - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.guia-mercosur.com">Guía del MERCOSUR</a><br /> &nbsp;&nbsp; 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