Mercosur seals customs deal

Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez announced that she and six other presidents had approved the customs regulations in their closed-door meeting.

"It's an issue we've been trying to resolve for a long time, and it's an achievement for all of us," Ms Fernandez said, adding that it showed Mercosur was a forum for action and not just talk.

"The important thing is that we have agreed on a formula and have overcome all kinds of differences."

Mercosur has long wanted to eliminate double taxation and related transport delays on imports that move through one member country to reach another. The common code will be phased in before fully taking effect in 2012.

The effort had been stuck for years as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay differed over how to distribute a unified import tax among themselves and eventually the associate Mercosur members of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

Also joining the summit in remote San Juan were the presidents of Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, and representatives of Peru, Colombia, Mexico and the United Nations.

Mercosur also roundly condemned Arizona's notorious anti-immigrant law on Tuesday, noting that it exposed migrants to racism, xenophobia, violence and other violations of their rights.

A simple identity card entitles citizens and residents of Mercosur countries to travel, work and live in much of south America without fear of deportation.

The group called on the US and other rich states to ratify the 1990 United Nations convention on the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families.