Since its inception, Mercosur had become Latin America’s most successful integration agreement. Among its members were Latin America’s largest economy, Brazil (GDP = US$1035 billion), and its third-largest economy, Argentina (GDP = US$374 billion). From 1991 to 1998, trade between Brazil and Argentina increased 500 percent to $15 billion. However, in 1999, Mercosur trade volume fell 20 percent. Argentina and Brazil were both experiencing recessions and disagreed on which foreign exchange policy to follow. This disagreement threatened the future of Mercosur.