Course Summary
Economic profile of ALADI countries: largest Latin-American group of integration. Regional tariff preference. Customs procedures.
The ALADI (Latin American Integration Association) is the largest Latin-American group of integration. It has twelve
member countries: Argentina, Bolivia,
Brazil,
Chile,
Colombia, Cuba,
Ecuador,
Mexico,
Paraguay,
Peru,
Uruguay and
Venezuela, totaling 20 million
sq km and more than 500 million people.
Observer countries: El
Salvador, Honduras, Spain,
Portugal, Guatemala,
Dominican Republic,
Costa Rica,
Nicaragua, Italy,
Panama, Switzerland,
Russian Federation, Romania,
China, Korea,
Japan, Ukraine.
Observer Organizations:
Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC), Organization of American States (OAS),
Interamerican
Development Bank (IDB), United Nations Program
for Development (UNDP), Commission of the European Communities, Latin American
Economic System (SELA), Corporación Andina de
Fomento (CAF), American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Pan
American Health Organization (PAHO / WHO), Secretaría General Iberoamericana
(SEGIB).
The 1980 Montevideo Treaty TM80 is the global legal framework that
constitutes and rules the ALADI and was signed on August 12th 1980. It
establishes the following general principles: pluralism, convergence,
flexibility, differential treatment and multiplicity.
Sample of the Course:
The ALADI promotes the creation of an area of economic preferences in the
region, aiming at a Latin-American common market, through three mechanisms:
- Regional tariff preference granted to products originating in the member
countries, based on the tariffs in vigor for third countries
- Regional scope agreement, among member countries
- Partial scope agreements, between two or more countries of the area
Either regional or partial scope agreements (Articles 6 to 9) may cover
tariff relief and trade promotion; economic
complementation; agricultural trade; financial, fiscal,
customs and health cooperation; environment preservation; scientific and
technological cooperation, tourism promotion; technical standards and many other
fields (Articles 10 to 14).
As the TM80 is a “frame treaty”, by subscribing it, the Governments of the
member countries authorize its Representatives to legislate through agreements
on the most important economical subjects for each country.
A preference system, which consists of market opening lists, special
cooperation programs (business rounds, pre-investment, financing, technological
support) and countervailing measures on behalf of the landlocked countries, has
been granted to the countries qualified as relatively less developed (Bolivia,
Ecuador and Paraguay), to favor their fully participation in the process of
integration.
Any Latin-American country can join the 1980 Montevideo Treaty. The Republic
of Cuba was the last country to accede, becoming full member country on August
26th 1999. Besides, the ALADI is also open to the all Latin American countries
through agreements with other countries and integration areas of the continent
(Article 25), as well as to other developing countries or their respective
integration areas outside Latin America (Article 27).
As the institutional and normative “umbrella” of regional integration that
shelters these agreements as well as the subregional ones (CAN,
MERCOSUR, G-3,
etc.) it is the aim of the Association to support and favor every effort in
order to create a common economic area.
Agreement EENI & ALADI
ALADI, Latin American Integration Association, Montevideo Treaty, Asociacion Latinoamericana, Integracion, Latin-American, group of integration, Regional tariff preference, Master, International Business
