Negotiations will begin soon to eliminate tariff barriers between the continent's six Mercosur countries and five other nations of the Andean Community trading bloc, said Ramon Rosales, Venezuela's chief delegate said.

A final agreement could be in place within a year, giving South America more clout in U.S.-led negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas, Rosales said. The plan calls for a free-trade zone stretching from Alaska to Patagonia, on the tip of Argentina, by 2005.

"We look forward to working and talking with Brazil about trade and economic integration in the region," said Richard Mills, a spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative. "The U.S. and Brazil are co-chairing FTAA negotiations and we hope Brazil will focus with us on achieving hemispheric integration."

In a joint statement, the presidents of the six Mercosur countries praised the agreement, calling it an important step toward consolidating free trade across the region.

Venezuela is trying to recruit Caribbean nations to join the negotiations.

"The goal is to dramatically improve the negotiation capacity of the region in the creation of FTAA," Rosales said.

The Mercosur bloc — Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay — has a combined gross national product of almost $1 trillion. Chile and Bolivia are associate members.

Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru belong to the Andean Community. Guyana and Suriname also have been invited to join the negotiations to eliminate tariffs.

The Mercosur and Andean Community member countries have talked about the idea for years, but the announcement Friday marks the first time they set a date to complete the free trade agreement.

"The technical discussions are completed, and now we are entering the political arena," Rosales said.

Rosales said the delay in agreeing on a deal was caused in part by the worldwide economic slump, its repercussions across the region and Argentina's financial crisis.

Some observers doubt that a final agreement will be in place by the end of 2003, in part because the region's top political leaders have been consumed by economic and political turbulence.

"It took the Europeans 20 years to get their act together with the European Union," said Jose Luis Guerrero, a business professor and expert on South American economic issues at Georgetown University. "This is not going to happen overnight."

Mercosur also approved a treaty making it easier for residents of each member country to move freely and work across the region.