A study conducted by the European Parliamentary Research Service (2023) notes that the European Union's (EU) relations with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries are being affected by changes in global power, economic uncertainty, and security threats. The current working paper...

Dieses Policy Paper untersucht die geopolitische und wirtschaftliche Bedeutung des EU-Mercosur-Abkommens für die Europäische Union (EU) im Rahmen der neuen Wirtschaftssicherheitsstrategie der EU (European Economic Security Strategy). Angesichts geopolitischer Veränderungen und wachsender...

Dieses Policy Paper untersucht die geopolitische und wirtschaftliche Bedeutung des EU-Mercosur-Abkommens für die Europäische Union (EU) im Rahmen der neuen Wirtschaftssicherheitsstrategie der EU (European Economic Security Strategy). Angesichts geopolitischer Veränderungen und wachsender...

This paper evaluates the potential welfare gains in the Mercosur region of South America as a benefit of improvement to the trade administrations. Improvements to border procedures and processes leading to border procedures can save billions of dollars for the region, create markets for...

The European Union’s (EU) Global Health Strategy calls for open and strategic autonomy in the field of pharmaceuticals, which would lead to the redesign of EU global supply and value chains as well as trade relations. As the EU and Germany are seeking to diversify their trade partners, the...

This study examines the impact of trade and environmental agreements on trade in the Andean Community (CAN) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) during the period 2001-2019. Using a panel data methodology, the study analyses the effects of ratifying a number of agreements (the Paris...

We explore sustainable electricity system development pathways in South America's MERCOSUR sub-region under a range of techno-economic, infrastructural, and policy forces. The MERCOSUR sub-region includes Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay, which represent key electricity...

Access to secure and stable supply of critical raw materials (CRMs) is vital for Europe's economic security. These raw materials, which are indispensable inputs for Europe's modernisation, are supplied by a handful of countries. Among them, China and Russia are two of the most important European...

We explore sustainable electricity system development pathways in South America’s MERCOSUR sub-region, considering a range of techno-economic, infrastructural, and policy forces. The MERCOSUR sub-region includes Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay, which represent key electricity...

The financial crises of the late 1990s in Asian and South American countries have once again highlighted the negative implications of development strategies characterized by high levels of foreign currency external indebtedness. In light of these events, South-South cooperation is conceived as...

More than twenty years after the beginning of negotiations, a new window of opportunity seems to have opened for the ratification of a trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. For Mercosur, this comes at a crucial juncture in its integration process: the future of the South...

Europe is committed to revitalising its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. This is evidenced by the numerous high-level visits from Germany and the EU to Latin American countries since the beginning of the year. In early June, the European Commission presented a "new agenda" for...

This chapter is an introduction to an edited volume, the first in English, to comprehensively address the legal structures and norms within MERCOSUR. It deals with both institutional and normative aspects, as well as the relationships between MERCOSUR law and other economic integration blocs and...

On 28 June 2019, the European Union and Mercosur reached a political agreement to establish an interregional trade agreement as 'part of a wider Association Agreement between the two regions'. The European Commission and Mercosur member states went on to publish a summary of the negotiating...

In 2019 the European Union (EU) and the Latin American countries that make up the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) reached a political agreement to sign, ratify and implement a trade agreement between the two blocs. This agreement is expected to bring trade and welfare benefits on both...

We offer a comprehensive general equilibrium analysis of the EU-Mercosur agreement considering tariffs, quotas, non-tariff measures in goods and services, as well as a usually neglected component, namely, government procurement. We use the well-known GTAP model and cover the results for 36...

Recent technological changes have altered the way in which interactions take place between economic agents. One of the main advances is the possibility to broadly disseminate information at very low cost. E-commerce is a significant part of this change, becoming increasingly important within the...

This concluding chapter, rather than summarize the findings of the preceding ones, aims at shedding some light on what may lie ahead for MERCOSUR, looking at three different challenges: the role and functioning of the MERCOSUR Parliament; the enlargement process started with the accession of...

In this chapter I look at how human rights are addressed within MERCOSUR. The topic has deserved attention both from a political and legal perspective, but fairly little literature exists on the topic. At the political level, the instability of some governments in the bloc has threatened the...

Latin America is a fertile ground for exploring issues of trade and human rights, but relatively little seems to be written about human rights in economic integration processes across Latin America. This article is an attempt at remedying this. It is an exploratory piece that highlights some of...

Dreißig Jahre nach seiner Gründung fällt das Fazit zu den Integrationsfortschritten des Mercosur gemischt aus. Während die Handelsliberalisierung innerhalb des Mercosur als Erfolg verbucht werden kann, wurden die Ziele einer Umwandlung zur Zollunion und tiefere Integrationsschritte verfehlt....

This policy brief examines the latest developments in the EU-Mercosur economic relationship and outlines the existing non-economic relationship in order to contextualise the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement and its potential for strengthening common bonds between both regions.

Closing borders has always been a typical reaction to pandemics in the history of humanity, and the responses to Covid-19 mark no difference. Initiatives to limit the diffusion of the virus has put the closure of national borders under the spotlight worldwide. However, national scale offers a...

The COVID-19 crisis has been a challenge for those who defend the architecture of multilateralism. The demand for coordinated responses signals the phenomenon of interregionalism as a strategic choice to contain the pandemic. The interaction between regional, bi-regional groupings and single...

The possibility of a single currency for the Mercosur countries was raised by Argentine President Menem in December 1997 and again at the regional summit this past June. This paper argues that whether Mercosur needs a common currency depends on what kind of integrated regional market its...

This paper looks empirically into the behavior of multinational firms in international oligopolistic markets with trade balance constraints. I show how a particular form of non-tariff barrier applied at the firm level can lead to an increase in trade flows in the presence of intra-firm strategic...

The COVID-19 crisis has been a challenge for those who defend the architecture of multilateralism. The demand for coordinated responses signals the phenomenon of interregionalism as a strategic choice to contain the pandemic. The interaction between regional, bi-regional groupings and single...

This policy brief examines the latest developments in the EU-Mercosur economic relationship and outlines the existing non-economic relationship in order to contextualise the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement and its potential for strengthening common bonds between both regions.

The agrifood products market has never before contained as many niches than it does at this moment in history. The use of geographical indication (GIs) is one of the oldest ways of granting protection for and promoting these goods. Although they date back thousands of years, only since the...

The effects of international trade on the planet's climate and environment are manifold and complex. This makes assessment of the impact of free trade agreements (FTAs) a delicate matter. This study provides an overview of the development of sustainability chapters in FTAs and discusses their...

Dreißig Jahre nach seiner Gründung fällt das Fazit zu den Integrationsfortschritten des Mercosur gemischt aus. Während die Handelsliberalisierung innerhalb des Mercosur als Erfolg verbucht werden kann, wurden die Ziele einer Umwandlung zur Zollunion und tiefere Integrationsschritte verfehlt....