Editor's Note: This article is the ninth installment in an ongoing RANE series on the shifting patterns of global trade. The first installment provided a broad overview of the geopolitical and economic implications of these shifts. Other installments have examined trade patterns in the Americas , the Strait of Hormuz , Japan and South Korea , India , Turkey , ASEAN countries and the digital landscape . Mercosur is set to benefit from new trade agreements and reduced internal restrictions as economies around the world react to increased U.S. protectionism, and while ideological differences will challenge the bloc, business pressure will prevent a complete rupture. In its biannual summit in Buenos Aires on July 2-3, South America's largest trading bloc relaxed rules and gave member countries more autonomy to determine exceptions to common import tariffs.