Article One The Parties hereby establish the United States-Uruguay
Joint Commission on Trade and Investment, hereinafter "the
Commission".
Article Two
The Commission shall consist of representatives of both
Parties. The United States will be represented by the United
States Trade Representative or designee and Uruguay will
be represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs or designee
.
Article Three
Except as otherwise agreed, the Commission shall meet at
least once a year, and the location of the meeting will
alternate between the two countries.
Article Four
The objectives of the Commission are as follows:
To
provide a distinct forum for policy discussions, designed
to strengthen trade and investment relations between the
United States of America and Uruguay;To promote discussion
and cooperation between both countries in matters related
to trade and investment;
To
develop and implement a bilateral work agenda to address
topics of mutual interest including the full range of
trade and investment issues and measures, as well as
the restrictions that affect them;
To
review work done under the auspices of trade and investment
arrangements between the Parties in order to facilitate
their implementation and to enhance their effectiveness,
in coordination with pertinent ministries and agencies;
To
exchange points of view on discussions and initiatives
underway in regional or multilateral organizations or
fora in which both countries participate, in order to
foster concerted action;
To
identify methods of cooperation for addressing common
trade problems in third markets;
To
pursue the creation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas
(FTAA) by 2005;
To
exchange information on economic integration efforts
and their effects;
To
identify areas of common interest in which the Parties
may agree to take joint or individual actions to facilitate
bilateral trade and investment, which may be drawn into
the FTAA negotiations;
To
consult on proposals that might affect bilateral trade
and investment relations.
Article Five
The Commission shall
begin by preparing a Work Plan on matters of mutual
interest related to trade and investment. The Parties
shall endeavor to complete the Work Plan within a period
of 60 days following the signature of this Agreement.
This Plan shall be submitted to the Ministers for their
approval.
The Commission may
establish ad-hoc working groups, composed of officials
from the appropriate ministries and agencies, to address
specific issues of mutual interest. Conclusions or recommendations
reached by the Working Groups shall be submitted to
the Commission for agreement of future actions.
Article Six
Each Party is encouraged to consult with the appropriate
elements of its respective civil society, such as business,
labor, consumer, environmental and academic groups, on
matters related to the work of the Commission and to endeavor
to build public support for trade and investment initiatives
between the Parties.
Article Seven
Each Party may ask
for consultations to be held on any trade or investment
matter deemed of interest. All requests for consultation
shall be accompanied by written explanation of the issues
to be discussed and consultations shall be held within
a period of 30 days following the submission of such
a request, unless the requesting party is willing to
hold the consultations at a later date.
Consultations shall
initially be held in the country whose measure or practice
is under discussion, unless mutually agreed upon by
the Parties.
This Article shall apply without prejudice to any current
or future rights under domestic law of either Party
or other international agreements, including the Marrakesh
Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization.
Article Eight
This Agreement will become effective on the date of its
signature. Either Party may withdraw from this Agreement
by providing written notice of withdrawal to the other
Party six months in advance.
In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized
by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
DONE in the City of Montevideo, Uruguay, on the eleventh
day of April of two thousand two. In duplicate, in the
Spanish and English languages, both texts being equally
authentic.
FOR THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FOR THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE
REPUBLICA ORIENTAL DEL URUGUAY.
