Latin American Integration Association (LAIA)

note - also known as Asociacion Latinoamericana de Integracion (ALADI)

12 August 1980; effective - 18 March 1981

to promote freer regional trade

members - (13) Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela

observers - (25) China, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, EC, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Inter-American Development Bank, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latin America Economic System, Nicaragua, Organizacion Panamericana de la Salud, Organization of American States, Panama, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Nations Development Program, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean