Venezuela's bid to join Mercosur

it's not as straightforward as it may seem...

Venezuela's admission to South America's Mercosur trade bloc - which is not as imminent as was previously announced - is backed by economic sectors keen on gaining access to oil under preferential terms.

But certain doubts are raised by questions like the harmonisation of tariffs and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's fiery anti-U.S. rhetoric.

Mercosur (Southern Common Market), made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, will formally invite Venezuela to become the fifth full member of the bloc at Friday's summit meeting in Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital, although lengthy negotiations lie ahead before the agreement is finalised.

Not even Chile, the bloc's oldest associate member - a status it was granted in 1996, a year before Bolivia became the second associate member - has attempted to become a full partner, because to do so it would have to bring its foreign tariffs into line with those of the bloc. (Chile has a foreign tariff of six percent, compared to the Mercosur common external tariff of 35 percent).

The differences with respect to trade questions remain in place despite the ideological affinity between the centre-left Chilean government and the left-leaning administrations currently ruling Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

But firebrand Chávez came knocking on the Mercosur's door with a suitcase full of petrodollars that looked tempting to highly indebted economies, and a generous offer to finance purchases of increasingly scarce oil and natural gas, in exchange for abundant agricultural products needed to reach his dream of food sovereignty (the primacy of people's and community's rights to food and food production, over trade concerns) for Venezuela.

But the road to full membership in Mercosur is long and complicated. Before Venezuela becomes the fifth partner, it will have to accept the bloc's statutes, rules and regulations, fulfill a series of tariff requirements, and ratify Mercosur agreements - a process that is supposed to take six months to a year.

Presidents Néstor Kirchner of Argentina, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Nicanor Duarte of Paraguay and Tabaré Vázquez of Uruguay will merely be extending a "political welcome" to Chávez to join the Mercosur bloc, which was founded by the Asunción Treaty in 1991.

they say it may take as long as two or three years to complete the negotiations... meanwhile, that oil sure looks attractive...

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