Mercosur

After 18 years of talks an association agreement could be close, but will not satisfy

Current political trends favour the relaunching of talks, but agriculture will remain a stumbling block

Argentina and Brazil will hope to increase farm exports to Mexico if its US trade relations sour further

Although Caracas missed yesterday's deadline to ratify Mercosur norms, political considerations are the key factor

Failure to comply with Mercosur norms may facilitate Caracas's downgrade, but splits will persist

The spat over Venezuela is challenging intra-bloc relations and the outlook for trade talks

With few institutional pointers, the fractious bloc may be unable to resolve Venezuela-centred disputes

The issue of Venezuela's pro tempore presidency appears to be yet another dispute without rapid solution