WASHINGTON – United States Trade
Representative Robert B. Zoellick and Uruguayan Minister of
Economy and Finance Issac Alfie announced today the successful
conclusion of negotiations for a United States – Uruguay
Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). The agreement will strengthen
investment and trade ties between the two countries and will
lead to better protection for U.S. investments in the South
American nation.
“This agreement will deepen our economic
relationship with Uruguay and strengthen protections for
U.S. investors, thus encouraging two-way trade,” said
Zoellick. “Today marks another important step forward
in President Bush’s work to build stronger economic
ties between the United States and Latin America. Through
investment and trade, we can support jobs, hope and opportunity
in all the nations of the Western Hemisphere.”
The Office of the United States Trade Representative
and the Department of State led the U.S. negotiating team.
Uruguay’s negotiating team was led by the Ministry
of Economy and Finance. Uruguay’s Ambassador to the
United States, Hugo Fernandez Faingold, also played a critical
role. “I want to thank Minister Alfie, Ambassador
Fernandez and their team for working with us to successfully
conclude these talks, and I am pleased that the work initiated
by Foreign Minister Opertti last November has been so quickly
concluded,” said Zoellick.
Background: The United States and
Uruguay announced their intention to negotiate a Bilateral
Investment Treaty on November 18, 2003, at the conclusion
of the Free Trade Area of the Americas Ministerial in Miami,
Florida. The decision to negotiate this agreement sprang
from the work of the United States-Uruguay Joint Commission
on Trade and Investment. The Joint Commission was established
following President Jorge Batlle's February 2002 visit to
the White House. Since April 2002, the Commission has pursued
an ambitious work plan designed to strengthen the U.S. -
Uruguay trade relationship. With negotiations now completed,
the necessary legal reviews of the texts are expected to
concluded in October, after which the agreement will be
formally signed.
