| |
|
On 16 April 1998,
MERCOSUR members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and
Uruguay, along with Andean Community members
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela,
signed a framework agreement towards the creation of
a free trade agreement between the Andean Community
and MERCOSUR. This agreement is registered with the
ALADI Secretariat as agreement number AAP.A14TM.
No.11. The agreement aims at a two-stage negotiation
of a free trade agreement: in the first stage,
lending on 30 September 1998, agreements on tariff
preferences would be negotiated; then, between 01
October 1998 and 31 December 1999 negotiations
towards a free trade agreement would take place.
The negotiation of tariff preferences among the
two groups began in June 1998. In 1999, however, at
the request of Brazil, the process took two tracks:
one in which countries negotiated with Brazil; the
other in which Andean countries negotiated with
Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The
negotiations between Brazil and the Andean Community
concluded on 3 July 1999 and on 12 August 1999 an
agreement was signed between Brazil and Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, registered with ALADI
as Economic Complementation Agreement Nº
39 (ACE39), which entered into force on 16 August
1999. On 29 June 2000, Argentina signed a
trade preferential agreement with Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru and Venezuela, which is registered with
the ALADI as Economic Complementarity Agreement
Nº 48 (ACE48) which, in
conformity with Article 22 of that agreement,
entered into force on 1 August 2000. Both of these
agreements provide for their renewal upon agreement
by all Parties, and will be replaced once the
agreements towards the creation of a free trade
agreement come into effect.
The second stage of the negotiations, towards the
creation of a free trade area between the Andean
Community and MERCOSUR, began in April 2001. On 6
December 2002, the Parties of the MERCOSUR and
Member States of the Andean Community signed a
framework agreement towards the formation of a free
trade area. This agreement was registered with the
ALADI Secretariat as Economic Complementation
Agreement Nº 56
(ACE56). Through this agreement, the Andean
Community and MERCOSUR countries restated their
intent to form a free trade area before 31 December
2003. They also indicated that the free trade
agreement agreement between Bolivia and MERCOSUR
(this agreement, registered with the ALADI
Secretariat as Economic Complementarity Agreement
(ACE) Nº36, was signed on
17 December 1996) would remain in force.
In conformity with the
obligations set out in Economic Complementarity
Agreement Nº56,
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (MERCOSUR
Member States) and Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and
Venezuela (Member states of the Andean Community)
signed Economic Complementarity Agreement Nº59
on 18 October 2004. The objective of this agreement
is to create a free trade area through the expansion
and diversification of commercial exchange and the
elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to
reciprocal trade.
Peru concluded negotiation of a free trade
agreement with MERCOSUR on 25 August 2003.
This agreement was signed on 30 November 2005 and
registered with the ALADI Secretariat as Economic
Complementarity Agreement Nº58.
|
