ALADI – Latin American Integration Association

The Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) is a regional organization created with the objective of promoting economic integration and the development of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Founded in 1980, ALADI is headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay, and has the participation of 13 member countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela), representing a total of 20 million square kilometers and over 510 million inhabitants.

Its mission is to facilitate trade and economic cooperation among its members by eliminating trade barriers and promoting policies that drive economic growth in the region. To achieve these goals, the organization relies on agreements and treaties aimed at trade liberalization, harmonization of policies and regulations, and the promotion of investments.

One of ALADI’s key instruments is the 1980 Treaty of Montevideo, which laid the foundations for economic integration in the region and established an institutional framework for the organization. Additionally, ALADI also administers a series of preferential tariff agreements among its members aimed at reducing import tariffs between participating countries.

ALADI plays an important role in promoting intra-regional trade in Latin America and the Caribbean, helping to strengthen economic ties among member countries and drive economic and social development in the region. Furthermore, the organization seeks to promote cooperation in areas such as agriculture, industry, technology, and the environment, with a focus on sustainable development.

ALADI promotes the creation of an economic preference area in the region, aiming for a common Latin American market through three mechanisms:

• Regional tariff preference, applied to products originating from member countries compared to tariffs in force for third countries;
• Regional scope agreements (common to all member countries); and
• Partial scope agreements, involving two or more countries in the area.

Through agreements and treaties, ALADI works to eliminate trade barriers, facilitate trade, and promote economic development in the region, thereby contributing to the progress and prosperity of its members.

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