Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market Access and Compliance William H. Lash, III visited Uruguay February 24-25, 2003, to discuss trade and commerce issues with Uruguayan government authorities, parliamentarians and representatives of the private sector. Assistant Secretary Lash highlighted his meeting with Dr. Leonard Costa, Pro-secretary of the Presidency, with whom he discussed, among other topics, commercial relations, liberalization of telecommunications, intellectual property rights, government acquisitions, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Responding to questions at a press conference, Assistant Secretary Lash said Uruguay and the United States are looking for formulas to increase commercial relations and economic cooperation. He highlighted in particular creation in 2001 of the Joint Commission on Trade and Investment. Assistant Secretary Lash called attention to business opportunities in Uruguay, noting Uruguay has a very good investment climate. He cited U.S. institutions which consider Uruguay one of the freest economies in Latin America and noted Transparency International says Uruguay has one of the most honest environments in the hemisphere. Assistant Secretary Lash stated the highly literate and well-trained Uruguayan workforce and a generally pro-American business environment have led to discussions of possible trade missions to Uruguay in a variety of sectors.

Opening Statement by Assistant Secretary Lash
Unofficial Transcript

Buenas tardes, good afternoon, I am William Lash and I am the assistant secretary of commerce of the United States of America. I am joined by my colleague Dr. Costa, the pro-secretary of the Presidency, to support a two-day visit to Uruguay. This visit is part of our economic friendship and commitment with Uruguay and friendship between President Bush and President Batlle. We are looking for ways of increasing our economic ties and cooperation especially in support to the Joint Commission on Trade and Investment established last year. During this visit I’ve been meeting with members of the public and private sector; we’ve discussed our trade relationship as well as issues that need to be resolved to increase trade and investment in Uruguay. One of the topics we discussed was Uruguay’s new law to protect intellectual property as well as the prospects for increased liberalization in telecommunications, government procurement, but most importantly focusing on what the Uruguayan administration would like to see from our friends in the United States as far as sectors to attract investment and trade. In these meetings we discussed the FTAA as well as the WTO. We are looking for ways of again increasing our support for our friends in Montevideo and encouraging awareness of our businesses of the opportunities existing in Uruguay. With that alternative my colleague, Dr. Costa.

Statement by Pro-Secretary of the Presidency Dr. Leonardo Costa

Well, thank you. We are very pleased with the visit of Dr. Lash. Basically our discussion was focused on how Uruguay will enforce its new intellectual property rights law, which has been in process a long time. From 1986 to date there were many efforts to modify the law which was passed – and with I would say the unanimous vote of all political sectors in Uruguay – last December. Therefore, in this specific area the way we enforce this law is the way to improve business opportunities for our businessmen in the United States and for American businessmen in Uruguay, as well as improving investment in education. In this regard, the government is strongly committed to enforce the law totally and effectively. This year we will work hard with training and divulging the new regulations the law established. This means this was a commitment from the beginning of our administration and we are very pleased with the fact this law was approved by all political sectors. In addition, as you know, we have been seeking an amendment to the government procurement law and generally to improve transparency mechanisms related to fighting corruption and assuring equal treatment for all bidders. In essence, besides Uruguay’s recent developments those were the issues we discussed.

Q.Daily Ultimas Noticias. Mr. Lash, in which areas would the United States be interested in expanding investment in Uruguay?

A.WL. I’ve spoken with your Ambassador in Washington, Ambassador Fernandez, as well as with Ambassador Silverstein about this topic. And those conversations and our own research indicate Uruguay has a very good investment climate. The Wall Street Journal and Heritage Foundation consider Uruguay one of the freest economies in Latin America. Transparency International says this is one of the most honest environments in the entire hemisphere. Given that and the highly literate and well-trained workforce and a generally pro-American environment, we’ve discussed possible trade missions to Uruguay in a variety of sectors including information technology, mining, mining equipment as well as agribusiness. It is important that governments not define which kinds of business should come to Uruguay but rather we should focus on making people aware of the positive investment climate here and let businesses make their own choices. We will be encouraging a variety of businesses to join a trade mission to Uruguay.

Q. France Press. Mr. Lash, I would like to know if the United States has any concerns about the new law on intellectual property. If this is the case, what are they, or was your visit only to find out how the new law would be enforced.

A. WL. Actually there is always room for improvement but we are very impressed that the law passed; we think that is a very positive step both for Uruguayan inventors and business people as well as for American entrepreneurs and scientists. Obviously, enforcement is a major concern for any IPR law. Dr. Costa has informed us there already have been four convictions since January when the law passed. And maybe Dr. Costa would like to refer to the efforts made to train attorneys and the judiciary.

LC . Yes, we have been essentially working on two processes with all business chambers that deal with property rights, that is ANDEBU, AGADU, The Book Chamber, The Record Chamber. One is a manual including all the regulations as well as the past history of this law. As we also want to highlight the political consensus obtained at the congressional level it will also include documents by Congressmen of the four parties who encouraged and approved this law. And this year we will also dedicate our efforts to training at all levels. Not only will we continue cooperating with the Center of Judicial Studies but also we will start cooperation with customs and the police on investigative training. This means the most important challenge this year will be to demonstrate that the law is good, not only because of its content but especially because of its enforcement. And, in this respect, Uruguay has demonstrated a long-lasting legal culture.

Q.El Espectador Radiostation: With respect to one of the issues that you mentioned was discussed, liberalization of telecommunications, can you be more specific on this issue and what are the suggested areas to be liberalized in our country?

A – WL. First of all, I would like to say that a liberalized open telecommunications market is vital to any economy and could benefit the entire state, not just the people who are involved in the telecommunications sector. Given Uruguay’s well established IT sector and high literate population it deserves a liberalized telecommunications sector. We have discussed these issues with my colleagues about American companies which have been granted telecommunications licenses and which are waiting to be awarded those licenses. I think this will be important to attract technology and investment into the country and it is also an attempt to give the people of Uruguay more penetration and lower costs in telecommunications. Liberalization of the telecommunications sector is something that many governments are facing today. Obviously to have meaningful competition it is difficult to have the government as a major economic player in any sector. We hope there will be new entries in the market as we improve interconnectivity and market access.

Q. El Espectador Radio Station: In the negotiations at the beginning of conversations to improve bilateral commerce, the United States requested approval of the intellectual property rights bill. As far as investment goes, this benefits your country. As far as access to your country’s market goes, and specifically about the subsidies issue, is there going to be any effort from the United States to make the balance of trade more favorable to Uruguay?

A. WL. I think there are two separate points in that question. The IPR issue: the new IPR law is not done to favor the United States, rather it is done to protect Uruguayan businessmen and Uruguayan inventors and artists as well. However, given its importance, fighting piracy was a trade issue between our two states. I say issues because Uruguay is our friend, and friends don’t have problems, they have issues that need to be resolved. Regarding market access to the United States, President Bush is making a very aggressive series of offers that go to the WTO and the FTAA. Then he has made offers to phase out tariffs on manufactured goods. Like Uruguay, the U.S. is a major agriculture producer and both at the FTAA and the WTO, the President has offered to phase out market access barriers in agricultural products as well as phase out export subsidies. I think we are looking to make progress on both market access as well as in the area of IPR. Uruguay is a recognized leader in the multilateral trading system and we will continue to rely on their support as we work together to open markets for our two economies.