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The interests of the United States in Latin America and the creation of the FTAA are two determinant factors in explaining the European Union intention to establish an Association Agreement with Mercosur. While the European Union is interested in the Mercosur enlargement, the US prefer, through the creation of the FTAA, to induce its dissolution and obtain advantages from asymmetric integration. Our purpose is to demonstrate that, given the possible scenarios of evolution in regional agreements in Latin America, the most plausible (coexistence of Mercosur, EU/Mercosur Association Agreement and FTAA) is also the one that allows for a reconciliation of EU and US interests in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]