Divergências nas políticas de comércio internacional na América do Sul: tendências e desafios nos acordos preferenciais de comércio - PTAs (2009-2014)

South America, in recent history, has had several regional integration actions related to trade, influencing the countries positions in terms of international trade policies as well as forming a tangle of relationships that often overlaps with contrary views. In this context, this thesis addresses the history of the main regional blocs involving South America as a basis to show the current fragmentation of this subcontinent in three main views of international trade policy, with an intermediate vision characterized by Brazil and followed also by members of the MERCOSUR in a regional-multilateralist position. At one extreme, the countries Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia, ALBA representatives, present their extreme-nationalist position. And in an antagonistic position, Chile, Peru and Colombia constitute the liberalbilateralist axis. In order to prove that there is a trend towards the strengthening of the liberalbilateralist vision in the region, a research based on analysis of Preferential Trade Agreements will be held, focusing bilateral FTAs concluded with countries of different regions with special attention to the period immediately after the outbreak of the 2008 crisis, from 2009 to 2014. Finally, if the hypothesis is confirmed, demonstrating the resumption of the bilateralist position after a period in which the multilateralist vision was predominant in South America, it is important to point the challenges of this scenario for Brazil.