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Leaders of the Southern American sub-regional bloc Mercosur began arriving in Paraguay’s capital Asuncion on Sunday in preparation to kick off of the 49th Summit of the Common Market of the South on Monday.
All full members of the bloc – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela – are all set to attend the summit. Associate members Guayana and Chile will also be attending to participate in efforts to strengthen regional political and economic integration.
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Canciller venezolana arribó a #Paraguay para participar en actividades del Mercosur. https://t.co/hhMTeTd5jF pic.twitter.com/S0uNNmJyDo
— Cancillería Vzla (@vencancilleria)
December 20, 2015
“Venezuelan Foreign Minister arrived in Paraguay to participate in Mercosur activities.”
Argentine President Mauricio Macri will attend the Mercosur summit for the first time after winning the country’s tight presidential race late last month. Macri initially vowed to seek Venezuela’s suspension from Mercosur, but he later retracted the promise after the Venezuelan opposition won a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.
It is expected that Macri will drastically scale back Argentina’s interest in promoting regional integration, an issue long championed by former Argentine presidents Cristina Fernandez and Nestor Kirchner, while pushing for more free trade in the region.
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Barriers to trade and measures to increase trade are expected to top Mercosur’s agenda this summit, Prensa Latina reported.
In a pre-summit meeting of the region’s Common Market Group on Saturday, analysts identified some 80 national policy measures that could be considered potential barriers to trade.
Mercosur countries have historically applied strong protectionist policies imposing higher import tariffs on industrial goods in order to strengthen their domestic goods, but this summit has counter such measures.
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According to Paraguayan Economic Relations and Integration Vice Minister Rigoberto Gauto, the summit will also send a message to the world that Mercosur is open for business with other regional blocs, Prensa Latina reported.
Possibly future trading partners include the European Union, the U.S., China, Russia, Southeast Asia, and India.
The summit comes after some 200 representatives from social movements and civil society groups met in Paraguay to discuss issues facing the region, including social security, immigration, food security, and labor.
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