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Mercosur: Regional Integration Essay

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Regional Paper - MERCOSUR Regional integration is the process by which countries agree to reduce or eventually remove tariff and non-tariff barriers to promote the free flow of goods and services amongst countries. Global business is accomplished when organizations conduct business internationally and are not committed or bounded to a single home country. Regional integration combined with global business supports organizations conducting business globally amongst a variety of countries by removing restricting barriers and other obstacles. A move toward regional economical integration can provide consumers with new benefits and present organizations with innovative challenges (Hill, 2005). There are several levels of regional …show more content…

On January 1, 1995, MERCOSUR "began operating as a customs union, meaning that it has tariff preferences between its four member countries (free-trade area) and a common external policy on trade with non-member countries and economic groups (Lima, 1997)". MERCOSUR represents an approximate population of 200 million individuals, accounts for approximately 70 percent of South America's territory, 64 percent of the population, and 60 percent of regional gross domestic product (GDP). The primary purpose of this regional integration is to create a common market where goods and services can be freely traded amid member countries (Ministry of External Relations, 2005). The creation and expansion of MERCOSUR has gained substantial success in their 14 years of existence. They are currently the fourth largest regional integration market after North America, Europe, and Japan. Trade occurring within MERCOSUR countries was initially set to have no tariffs; however, member countries were to impose a common external tariff (CET) on goods imported from countries outside the union. In early 1997, nearly 90 percent of all trade within the MERCOSUR region was free of tariffs. All members of the regional union accepted and practiced the CET, which originated at 12 percent and increased to 15 percent by 1997 (Connolly & Gunther, 1999). "From 1990 to 1998 total exports increased by 75 percent, representing growth of 44 percent for exports to countries

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