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Article: Is a South American free trade agreement next? Mercosur and CAN members weigh advantages.(Special Advertising Section)
- Article from:
- Foreign Policy
- Article date:
- January 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In the world of free trade agreements for the Americas, there already is NAFTA, while CAFTA, its Central American counterpart, is under discussion. Could a SAFTA, or a South American Free Trade Agreement, be far behind?
The aspiration to secure a free trade pact between the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur) and the Community of Andean Nations (CAN)--Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela---has been in the air for more than half a decade. Mercosur summits in 1997 and 1998 trumpeted the first efforts, sparking enthusiasm among Andean pact trade leaders but few concrete results. The initiative took on new life in 2000 with the South American Summit, ...