Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico plan to sign an accord liberalizing 90% of trade among the group when they meet at the coming Pacific Alliance summit scheduled for May 23 in Colombia announced Chilean Foreign minister Alfredo Moreno.
Uruguay needs “new markets and new partners” and must try to diversify trade with the largest possible number of agreements to make Mercosur more flexible and anticipate the current process in Argentina, said President Jose Mujica.
The president of the Paraguayan Industrial Union Eduardo Filippo said it was essential for the country to establish negotiations outside Mercosur, following the suspension from the group by the remaining three members allegedly because of the rupture of the democratic order.
The newly-formed Pacific Alliance bloc seems more like a political club to counterbalance the Atlantic-facing, Brazil-led Mercosur group. However, the bloc accounts for 30% of India’s trade with Latin America. Can India engage the group so it is not left out from their Asia focus?
The leading countries of Latin America’s Pacific Rim with the exception of Ecuador and a few Central American countries, agreed to conform the Alliance of the Pacific an ambitious integration project which has good relations with Washington and is targeted to accompany the growing influence of the Asia-Pacific basin.
Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico signed an accord Wednesday creating the Pacific Alliance to more deeply integrate their economies, and develop new trade links with the Asia-Pacific region.