Description
The study analyses the role of Paraguay and Uruguay in three Mercosur extra-regional trade agreements: EU, EFTA, and Singapore. It traces how Small States used the external agenda of the bloc as an amplifying strategy to secure their preferences, and compares the different strategies for each agreement. The research question is “Are regional organisations an efficient negotiation mechanism for their smaller member-states?” and the hypothesis is that their smallness is presented as an advantage to obtain compensatory conditions. The study observes if the agreement had exclusive measures for Paraguay and Uruguay, which were demanded by them at the negotiations stage. The hypothesis was tested by comparing whether Paraguay and Uruguay preferences were obtained in the final agreements exclusively for them, and not for Mercosur's larger member states. Employing Qualitative Content Analysis, data were coded via MaxQDA to identify preferences and exclusive measures conceded. The study brings a twofold contribution: empirically, with an analysis of the new generation of trade agreements and the role of two still understudied countries; theoretically, it refines the small states framework to understand that they can use trade negotiations to secure economic benefits, develop stable and predictable external relations, and cope with the changing international system.