- Free transit of production goods, services and factors between the member states with inter alia, the elimination of customs rights and lifting of non-tariff restrictions on the transit of goods or any other measures with similar effects;
- Fixing of a common external tariff (TEC) and adopting of a common trade policy with regard to nonmember states or groups of states, and the coordination of positions in regional and international commercial and economic meetings;
- Coordination of macroeconomic and sectoral policies of member states relating to foreign trade, agriculture, industry, taxes, monetary system, exchange and capital, services, customs, transport and communications, and any others they may agree on, in order to ensure free competition between member states;
- The commitment by the member states to make the necessary adjustments to their laws in pertinent areas to allow for the strengthening of the integration process.
The Asuncion Treaty is based on the doctrine of the reciprocal rights and obligations of the member states. MERCOSUR initially targeted free-trade zones, then customs unification and, finally, a common market, where in addition to customs unification the free movement of manpower and capital across the member nations' international frontiers is possible, and depends on equal rights and duties being granted to all signatory countries.
During the transition period, as a result of the chronological differences in actual implementation of trade liberalization by the member states, the rights and obligations of each party will initially be equivalent but not necessarily equal.
In addition to the reciprocity doctrine, the Asuncion Treaty also contains provisions regarding the most-favored nation concept, according to which the member nations undertake to automatically extend--after actual formation of the common market--to the other Treaty signatories any advantage, favor, entitlement, immunity or privilege granted to a product originating from or intended for countries that are not party to the Latin American Association of Integration (ALADI).
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