International
Organizations
Mercosur
Characteristics :
Type : Intergovermental
Establishment : Treaty
of Asunción (March 26th 1991) and
Protocol of Ouro Preto
(December 16th 1994)
Headquarters : Montevideo, San Pablo, Buenos Aires, Rio
de Janeiro, Caracas
Official Languages : Spanish, Portuguese, Guarani
Full Members : 5
(Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela)
Associated Members : 5
(Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú)
Observer Members : 2
(México, New Zealand)
Area : 19.326.961
km2 (Full members only)
Population : 288.996.820 (2012)
Density : 15
/ km2
Description
:
Mercosur or Mercosul (Spanish: Mercado Común del Sur,
Portuguese: Mercado
Comum do Sul, Guarani: Ñemby
Ñemuha, in English: “Southern
Common Market”) is a sub-regional bloc.
Its full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and
Venezuela. Its associate countries are Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Colombia,
Ecuador and Suriname. And, Observer countries are New Zealand and
Mexico.
Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods,
people, and currency. The official languages are Spanish, Portuguese
and Guarani. It has been updated, amended, and changed many times
since. It is now a full customs union and a trading bloc. Mercosur and
the Andean Community of Nations are customs unions that are components
of a continuing process of South American integration connected to the
Union of South American Nations.
Geography :
The territory of Mercosur consists of the combined territories of five
of the 12 countries of South America and their population. Including
the overseas territories of member states, Mercosur experiences most
types of climate from Antarctic to tropical, rendering meteorological
averages for Mercosur as a whole meaningless. The majority of the
population lives in areas with a subtropical climate (Uruguay, Southern
Paraguay, Northeastern Argentina and Southern and Southeastern Brazil),
or a tropical climate (Venezuela and Northeastern Brazil).
Merchandise Trade :
Intra-Mercosur merchandise trade (excluding Venezuela) grew from US$10
billion at the inception of the trade bloc in 1991, to US$88 billion in
2010; Brazil and Argentina each accounted for 43% of this total. The
trade balance within the bloc has historically been tilted toward
Brazil, which recorded an intra-Mercosur balance of over US$5 billion
in 2010. Trade within Mercosur amounted to only 16% of the four
countries' total merchandise trade in 2010, however; trade with the
European Union (20%), China (14%), and the United States (11%) was of
comparable importance. Exports from the bloc are highly diversified,
and include a variety of agricultural, industrial, and energy goods.
Merchandise trade with the rest of the world in 2010 resulted in a
surplus for Mercosur of nearly US$7 billion; trade in services,
however, was in deficit by over US$28 billion. The EU and China
maintained a nearly balanced merchandise trade with Mercosur in 2010,
while the United States reaped a surplus of over US$14 billion;
Mercosur, in turn, earned significant surpluses (over US$4 billion each
in 2010) in its trade with Chile and Venezuela. The latter became a
full member in 2012.
Philatelic Issues
2016 – Uruguay – Unique
Stamp, from Mercosur Series
Issue information:
Country: Uruguay
Date: April 25th, 2016
Printed: 15.000 Copies
Type: Unique
Stamp
from Series
Value:
UYP 60
Stamp: Rectangular
Size: 39 mm.
x 27 mm.
Perforation: Circular
Gum: Water Activated
