Latin American cooperation as a port policy In MERCOSUR

Resumo

Port policies in MERCOSUR are essential to determine how and to what level the member countries contribute to the global GDP. Since the 19th century, these countries have applied open port policies. After the end of the monopoly exerted by the colonial metropolis, more ports were opened in order to increase their share in global trade.  Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay have similar export and import characteristics concerning product type, so they share analogous problems of logistics and of road-focused development. As customs regulation is responsible for organizing their countries' port policies, port legislation is essentially a domestic matter. Since 1991, MERCOSUR has established common goals to improve regional infrastructure and economy, bringing the discussion of port planning to the multilateral perspective. Paraguay and Bolivia, however, do not have access to the ocean and have always depended upon bilateral deals in order to create special customs regulations. Answering the question of what the importance of Latin American cooperation for recent port policies in MERCOSUR Is, this article will observe how port policies work in MERCOSUR, considering three common aspects of customs regulation in the five countries: the importance of Latin American cooperation to reducing port costs, new strategies to avoid logistic constraints at coastal ports and the impact of extra-regional political changes on MERCOSUR policies. The deductive method of analysis and the comparative method of procedure will be applied so as to explain what the juridical bibliography discerns about this topic. Based on this research, it will be easier for academics and politicians to observe MERCOSUR's role as an instrument for customs law harmonization among members. When it comes to port policies in MERCOSUR, it is expected that the members will coordinate together with other Latin American countries given that they share similar negative and positive aspects.