President Bush’s election to a second four-year term paves the way for the resumption of negotiations for a free trade agreement spanning the Americas, Latin American diplomats and executives said.

“The focus will now be the negotiations for the FTAA,” the acronym for the American-proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, said a former Brazilian ambassador to America who runs a foreign trade consulting company in Sao Paulo, Rubens Barbosa. “These negotiations will be revived.”

The run-up to the American election stalled talks for at least six months on easing commercial barriers on trade from Alaska to Patagonia to create a trading area with 800 million people and a combined economy of $13 trillion.

Brazilian exporters such as steel producer Gerdau SA are counting on the free trade agreement to help lower tariffs and increase sales in America.

Mexican exports to America have tripled since the country signed the North American Free Trade Agreement with America in 1993.

“We have known Bush for his first four years, and Brazil is already looking into how we can have better trade relations,” said Frederico Johannpeter, vice-president of Gerdau, Latin America’s largest steelmaker, on a telephone news conference from Porto Alegre, Brazil.

The company has acquired companies in America as a way of getting around barriers to Brazilian exports.

“In principle, the Republicans are more open in their economic policy and, they generally want to open markets up to the maximum when it comes to competition,” Mr. Johannpeter said.

In Mexico, President Fox said he wants to work with Mr. Bush to help establish a better immigration policy that’s “respectful of rights of Mexican migrants,” according to Mr. Fox’s press office.

Mr. Fox said he’s committed to working with Mr. Bush also to better cooperation on issues of improving security, fighting organized crime and terrorism and boosting economic growth.

In terms of free trade, America also signed a bilateral agreement with Chile in 2003 and in January completed talks with five Central American countries.

America is in negotiations for a free trade accord with Andean nations including Colombia and Peru.

“For Colombia, Bush’s triumph offers the opportunity to continue, without trauma, the important process of free trade negotiations and of collaboration that has been developed with undoubted benefit to our society and our economy,” said the chief executive of Bancolombia SA, Colombia’s biggest bank, Jorge Londono, in an e-mailed response to questions.

American barriers to agricultural imports such as Brazilian sugar will be a stumbling block for progress on a boarder free trade agreement, said Christian Lohbauer, manager of international relations at the Sao Paulo Industrial Federation.

Brazilian Foreign Relations Minister Celso Amorim may find it easier to work with Mr. Bush than Democratic Senator Kerry, who conceded defeat yesterday after Tuesday’s election, Mr. Lohbauer said.

For countries such as Brazil, it’s important to press ahead on free trade talks as America signs bilateral agreements, including an accord with Chile in 2003, said Mr. Lohbauer. Brazilian companies risk losing out as other countries negotiate with America to lower trade barriers, he said.

America is Brazil’s biggest trade partner, consuming about 22% of the country’s exports.

American trade barriers on Brazil include duties on orange juice, subsidies for domestic ethanol and meat producers, and quotas for imports of sugar from the country, the world’s biggest producer. Since American sugar quotas were introduced in 1982, Brazilian exports have dropped 60%, the ministry said.

Brazil needs to show a willingness to reduce barriers on services and manufactured goods talks on a free trade area to progress, Peter Allgeier, deputy American trade representative, said via video-link to business people in Rio de Janeiro last month.

“If the U.S. and the other countries are to make deep cuts in our support and significant openings in our markets it will be necessary for other countries to do the same,” he said. “For Brazil this means significant market access.”