page_title: Mercosur
section_title: Member states
hierarchical_section_title: Mercosur / Member states
context_page_description: Mercosur, Mercosul, or Ñemby Ñemuha, officially Southern Common Market, is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol of Ouro Preto in 1994. Its full members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuela is a full member but has been suspended since 1 December 2016. Associate countries are Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname.
  Mercosur's origins are linked to the discussions for the constitution of a regional economic market for Latin America, which go back to the treaty that established the Latin American Free Trade Association in 1960, which was succeeded by the Latin American Integration Association in the 1980s. At the time, Argentina and Brazil made progress in the matter, signing the Iguaçu Declaration, which established a bilateral commission, which was followed by a series of trade agreements the following year. The Integration, Cooperation and Development Treaty, signed between both countries in 1988, set the goal of establishing a common market, to which other Latin American countries could join.
context_section_description: Mercosur is composed of 5 sovereign member states: Argentina; Brazil; Paraguay; Uruguay and Venezuela (suspended since December 2016); and 7 associated states: Suriname, Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Bolivia, this latter in process of incorporation (since 17 July 2015); Plus two observer states: Mexico and New Zealand.
  Following the impeachment of President Fernando Lugo by the Paraguayan Senate, this country was suspended from Mercosur, and the admittance of Venezuela as a full member became effective on 31 July 2012. Venezuela had four years to fully adapt to the trade bloc regulations and failed to do so, with the nation being suspended from Mercosur on 1 December 2016.
  Directly subordinated to the Common Market Group, the Work Subgroups draw up the minutes of the decisions to submit for the consideration of the Council, and study specific Mercosur concerns. The work subgroups are: 
  Commercial matters
  Customs matters
  Technical standards
  Tax and monetary policies relating to trade
  Land transport
  Sea transport
  Industrial and technology policies
  Agricultural policy
  Energy policy
  Coordination of macroeconomic policies
  Labor, employment and social security matters
  Work subgroups are held quarterly, alternating in every member state, in alphabetical order, or at the Common Market Group Administrative Office. Activities are carried out by the Work Subgroups in two stages: preparatory and conclusive. In the preparatory stage, members of the Work Subgroups may request the participation of representatives from the private sector of each member state. The decision-making stage is reserved exclusively for official representatives of the member states. The delegations of representatives from the private sector in the preparatory stage of the Work Subgroup activities will have a maximum of three representatives for each member state directly involved in any of the stages of the production, distribution or consumption process for the products that fall within the scope of the subgroup's activities.,
caption: Dark blue: Full members
  Grey blue: Associated members
  Blue: Observer members
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