The four founding members of Mercosur who are still members – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay – signed the bloc’s electronic commerce agreement in Montevideo, agreed at the Common Market Council’s virtual meeting and announced in December last year. Under this new agreement – which was not signed in December due to the virtual meeting – a common legal framework was established to facilitate trade in the bloc by electronic means, both for goods and services. The agreement also provides for the cross-border transfer of information, the protection of personal data, the non-imposition of tariffs on electronic transmissions, electronic signatures, the location of computer facilities, online consumer protection, and access and use of the Internet. Electronic commerce has been increasing annually, but the lifestyle changes imposed by the pandemic have accelerated this trend. According to the Argentine Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CACE), electronic commerce in Argentina grew 124% in 2020 compared to the previous year. The increase is observed in the number of products sold (251 million, 72% more than in 2019) and the number of purchase orders (164 million, 84% more than in 2019).
Source: Datamar News