In what follows, I attempt to outline the reasons for streamlining the economic integration of the Americas, namely: expansion of markets, economies of scale, increasing the competitiveness of the region as a whole, and promoting the development of the region’s most marginalized and depressed countries.

Based on these premises, the stages of economic integration between the member countries are roughly the following:

1. Preferential Agreement: reduction of tariffs or of other forms of protection and preferences to stimulate trade.

2. Free Trade Area: total disappearance of tariffs and of other types of para-tariff barriers.

3. Customs Union: common external protection, single tariff for goods from non-member countries.

4. Common Market: free movement of production factors: labour and capital.

5. Single Market: elimination of physical borders and of technical and tax barriers. Regulatory reciprocity.

6. Economic Union: coordination of macroeconomic, monetary, fiscal and exchange policies.

7. Monetary Union: creation of a single currency or agreement on use of the most stable, and therefore strongest currency (u.s. dollar).