Mr Cardoso said he hoped to bring South America's two trade blocs - Mercosur and the Andean Group - closer together.

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In addition, Qatar had to endure a Fifa investigation into allegations it planned to trade blocs of votes with 2018 bidder Spain-Portugal - charges which could not be proved because of a lack of evidence.

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The agreement is designed to boost trade between the two blocs by removing various tariffs and customs barriers.

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