OURO PRETO : Mercosur Chiefs Meet

The presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay will gather Friday in the Brazilian city of Ouro Preto to put the finishing touches on their southern Common Market, the so-called Mercosur. Duty-free trade among the four Mercosur countries is scheduled to begin Jan. 1.

Mercosur has its origins in an economic integration agreement signed by Brazil and Argentina in 1988. In 1990, Paraguay and Uruguay joined the group, which has reduced tariffs by stages. It is the only South American economic bloc.

Trade among the four partners has grown from $2 billion in 1988 to more than $10 billion in 1993. They have a total population of nearly 200 million and a combined gross domestic product of $415 billion.