Andean Community ( Comunidad Andian, CAN):

Establishment: The original Andean Pact was founded and formed in 1969 using the
European Union Model. The trade bloc was called the Andean Pact until 1996 and
came into existence with the signing of the Cartagena Agreement in that year. It almost
failed by the 1980s and then again re-launched in 1990.
Headquarters: Its headquarters are located in
Lima, Peru.
Level of Economic Integration (EI): It is a
customs union comprising the South American
countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Purpose: The purpose of the Agreement is to
promote the balanced and harmonious
development of the Member Countries, accelerate
the growth of the Andean countries and the
creation of jobs, facilitate participation in the
regional integration process with the aim of
gradually creating a Latin American common
market, help reduce the external vulnerability of the Member Countries and improve their
position in the international economic context, strengthen sub-regional solidarity and
reduce the differences in development that exist among the Member Countries, and
define social policies oriented toward improving the quality of life of different sub-
regional groups and improving their access to the benefits of development.

Operation and Performance: Andean integration passed through a series of different
stages. As it more or less failed by the 1980s, it was a lost period for both the Andean
countries and Andean integration. But after its reformation, it gradually achieved most of
its objectives like The Andean countries eliminated tariffs on their trade with each other
and in 1993 formed a free trade area. This gave a strong boost to trade within the
Community, which increased heavily, creating thousands of new jobs. Trade in services
was also liberalized, particularly the different modes of transportation, then the adoption
of a common external tariff, and the harmonization of foreign trade instruments and
policies and economic policy, among others. The progress of integration and the
emergence of new challenges stemming from global economic change brought to the fore
the need for both institutional and policy reforms in the Cartagena Agreement. These
were accomplished through the Protocols of Trujillo and Sucre, respectively. The
institutional reforms gave the process political direction and created the Andean
Community and the Andean Integration System. The policy reforms, for their part,
extended the scope of integration beyond the purely trade and economic areas.

[http://www.comunidadandina.org/ingles/quienes/brief.htm]
[http://training.itcilo.it/actrav_cdrom1/english/global/blokit/andean.htm]




Mercosur (Mercado Comn del Sur):
Establishment: It was originated in 1988 as a free trade pact between Brazil and
Argentina . Then it was expanded in 1990 to include Paraguay and Uruguay. It was fully
established in 1991 by the Treaty of Asuncin, which was later amended and updated by
the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto.
Headquarters: The headquarters of Mercosur is in
the city of Montevideo, Uruguay.
Level of Economic Integration (EI): It is a Southern
Common Market economic bloc.
Purpose: It began with just four countries but the
purpose was the integration of all of South America,
gradually achieving the steps to form a perfect
common market in the image of the European Union,
creation of a common external tariff (CET) and the
free movement of goods, services, currency, and
people between members. The union even considered the creation of a common currency,
the gaucho, though that idea has since been discarded..
Operation and Performance: Mercosur has been making progress on reducing trade
barriers between member states. In reality, however, the blocs reach has often fallen
short of some goals. More than 25 years after its creation, the group has not yet formed a
common market as it planned. It may be diverting trade rather than creating trade, and
local firms are investing in industries that are not competitive on a worldwide basis. On
the economic front, Mercosur members agree to the free movement of goods and services
between member countries. However, countries can ask that certain products be exempt
to protect local industries. In recent years, Argentina and Brazil have taken advantage of
this option. Some allege that Argentinas application of non-automatic import licenses on
imports from its neighbors is a violation of Mercosur policy. Such internal disputes on
free movement and tariffs have made the formation of Mercosur fragmented over years.
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercosur ]
[ http://www.as-coa.org/articles/explainer-what-mercosur-0]