Latin American Integration Association

Latin American Integration Association (LAIA), organization formed in 1980 by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, taking over the duties of the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA), which had been created in 1960 to establish a common market for its member nations through progressive tariff reductions until the elimination of tariff barriers by 1973. In 1969 the deadline was extended until 1980, at which time the plan was scrapped and the new organization, LAIA, created by the Treaty of Montevideo. It has the more limited goal of encouraging free trade, with no deadline for the institution of a common market. Economic hardship in Argentina, Brazil, and many other member nations has made LAIA's task difficult. The association's headquarters are in Montevideo, Uruguay.

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Latin American Integration Association (LAIA)

 formerly (until 1980) Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA)

International association of Latin American countries originally dedicated to improving its members' economic well-being through free trade. At its founding in 1960 LAFTA included Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay; by 1970 Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Bolivia had joined. The organization aimed to remove all trade barriers over 12 years, but its members' geographic and economic diversity made that goal impossible. LAFTA was superseded in 1980 by the LAIA, which established bilateral trading agreements between members, which were divided into three groups according to their level of economic development. Cuba was admitted with observer status in 1986, and it became a full member in 1999. See also Inter-American Development Bank.