Mercosur’s trade quarrels grow deeper and deeper

Mercosur, the trade alliance between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, was officially launched as a free-trade zone in March 1991 but never took off due to the deep imbalances between its member states. This week, a summit in Asunción marred by absences and political tension was further proof of the group’s inability to march in a single direction.

With Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro giving the event a miss, neighbors Argentina and Uruguay were left to bicker over the direction they believe Mercosur should take from here on out.

One of the main tenets of Mercosur’s statute is that its member states are forbidden from entering bilateral economic agreements without permission from the bloc’s board — something Uruguay’s conservative President Luis Lacalle Pou is hoping to change.

His country is keen to move forward with talks over a trade deal with China, and the president was in London at the end of May to sound out British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about a similar agreement.

According to Mr. Lacalle Pou, his government has given “several warnings” about its intention to engage in negotiations outside of Mercosur, blasting what he calls the group’s “protectionism” and restrictions toward a more liberal economic agenda. “We don’t want to go it alone...