>Click to enlarge photo  U.S. Ambassador Frank E. Baxter delivering his remarks at the Chamber of Commerce Uruguay-USA year-end meeting. >Click to enlarge photo >Click to enlarge photo  Ambassador Baxter speaking with former Uruguayan President Luis Alberto Lacalle. >Click to enlarge photo  Horacio Vilaro, president of the Chamber of Commerce Uruguay-USA, Ambassador Frank E. Baxter and Uruguay's Finance Minister Danilo Astori. >Click to enlarge photo  Ambassador Frank Baxter and Uruguay's Minister of Industry Jorge Lepra. >Click to enlarge photo  Uruguay's Minister of the Environment and Housing Mariano Arana speaking with Ambassador Frank Baxter. >Click to enlarge photo  Ambassador Frank E. Baxter and former Uruguayan President Luis Alberto Lacalle in converstaion with business sector representatives.

The new U.S. Ambassor to Uruguay, Frank E. Baxter, indicated today that commercial relations between the two countries are increasing, and that he eagerly looks forward to participating in the upcoming discussions that aim at expanding trade.

In a speech given before a year-end meeting of the Chamber of Commerce Uruguay-USA, attended by Cabinet-level ministers and business and political leaders, the U.S. diplomat stated that “with our free trade agreement partners, we are creating an environment in which new companies can emerge and in which small and medium-sized enterprises have a chance to create economies that pull people out of the informal sector and into the formal sector.”

Following is a transcript of Ambassador Baxter's remarks:

U.S. AMBASSADOR FRANK E. BAXTER'S REMARKS AT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE URUGUAY-USA MEETING
Montevideo, Uruguay
December 11, 2006

VIDEO

Greetings. Esteemed ministers, ambassadors and other esteemed guests, it is really a pleasure to be here with you today.

I have to say, it is with a profound sense of humility, gratitude and awe that I am assuming my responsibility as the new U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay.

I am grateful to have been born in a great nation of immigrants which was conceived in liberty. I know that Uruguay is another such nation. I feel especially lucky to have been born in the state of California, another Hispanic state, where from the gold rush through to the Silicon Valley the credo is that anything is possible and the only failure is not starting over again.

I feel very very fortunate to have been asked by President Bush to represent our country in Uruguay. I understand that your brave founding father, Jose Artigas, was impressed by the U.S. Constitution, which is apparent in the separation of powers that you enjoy today. Uruguay is a nation with a strong commitment to liberty, democracy, and the rule of law. It is an example to all.

I am very pleased to be coming here at a time when our commercial relationship is blooming. We are your largest customer. Our bilateral investment treaty has just become effective. I recently participated in exciting events in Washington along with Minister Astori, Chief of Staff Fernandez and Ambassador Gianelli introducing Uruguay to the U.S. business community. I have to say the reception was fantastic, Mr. Astori was terrific.

I am now looking forward to being part of continuing discussions to expand trade between our nations. I am strongly committed to free trade as a means of increasing prosperity and reducing poverty. I further feel that trade is more than trade. It is a path to understanding and peaceful interaction.

I am also very pleased to have my first talk to be before a business group. I strongly feel that business can be one of the most honorable and most creative professions which makes a tremendous contribution to a better world. It is likely that that statement might find some naysayers in light of the rash of corporate scandals since 2000. We mustn’t minimize the harm that a few hundred wrongdoers have done to employees, stockholders, clients, and to the credibility of business generally. However, this is in the context of thousands of companies who conduct their business in an ethical and constructive manner. As a young man I questioned whether being in business would be my highest and best use. I wasn’t certain then, but I am now. My efforts in business have partially been responsible for thousands of jobs benefiting many families. The wealth which has been created has supported education, health and the arts way beyond what I could have done had I concentrated on any one of those areas alone.

Today, thanks to the technology mostly created by business, the poorest person is better off materially than the majority of people not too long ago. I think that business people do need to do much more to support the communities in which they operate, to set an example and to let people know how much business contributes to a better society.

As you know, I am not a professional diplomat, but a businessman like most of you. My entire business career was spent in financial services and I served in a number of the business associations and the financial services industry in New York.

Since retiring as chairman of Jefferies and company, a firm which specializes in investment banking for growing and mid-size companies, a lot like many companies in Uruguay, I have focused on educational reform within the poorer sections of Los Angeles, particularly for adolescents, about 70% Hispanics. An organization I led has started seven secondary schools with three more planned next year. These are public schools, free to the students, and with remarkable results in preparing them for college. To me, the most important priority for this generation is helping adolescents achieve their full potential to navigate the 21st century. We are in an era where human capital is by far the most important capital. Every student who drops out is a serious waste of resources, a public safety threat, as many dropouts are attracted to crime, and a moral failure. Business needs to play a significant role in finding ways to convince adolescents to delay gratification and complete their education. The reality today is that an educated individual armed with a computer can be stronger than strongest business is the past. I enthusiastically commend President Tabare Vazquez for his initiative to provide a computer for every student by the year 2009.

This is a time of tremendous opportunity for those willing to be prepared. We in business must share that vision with the next generation of potential leaders.

I would like to put my experience and my relationships in business, education, and the arts at the disposal of the people and the government of Uruguay. However, I must also remember that my creator gave me two ears and one mouth for a reason. I first want to listen carefully and seek to understand and then to be understood. I do not want to subject those in my new home to preconceived ideas which may not be relevant to this country.

I also want to work hard at studying Spanish. For the past four months, I have had a tutor most days, but have had to talk and think in English for most of the day. I am very happy to have more opportunity to practice. I am trying to make my office in the Embassy an English-free zone. It is very important for me to adopt your beautiful language. My experience has encouraged me to further support our Embassy's English learning programs here. I can tell you, it certainly is much easier for a young person to learn than someone as old as me.

This hemisphere is a top priority for the United States. I have just returned from a meeting in Washington for all ambassadors in the hemisphere and people from the highest levels of this administration, exploring ways to further enhance our relationships. We are committed to a common agenda with our partners, one that is focused on democracy, free markets, economic integration, and the development of individuals.

Through trade, we and our partners in the hemisphere have dramatically reshaped the economic dynamic in the region. Our free-trade agreements have torn down old economic structures and old ways of doing things and opened up market space for all involved. With our free trade agreement partners, we are creating an environment in which new companies can emerge and in which small and medium-sized enterprises have a chance to create economies that pull people out of the informal sector and into the formal sector.

Right, now these agreements cover about two-thirds of the entire GDP of the hemisphere. Our free-trade agreement partners are Chile, Mexico and Canada, the Central American countries and the Dominican Republic. Signed agreements with Colombia and Peru await ratification by our congress. We hope that discussions with Panama can be concluded as well.

We are holding separate trade and investment discussions with CARICOM and Paraguay as well as Uruguay which already enjoy preferential access to our market through the general system of preferences. As a result of free trade and preferential agreements, about 85% of all the goods coming from Latin America and the Caribbean are now entering the United States duty-free. Our earnest goal is to increase that percentage.

I look forward to working closely with President Vazquez and the government of Uruguay. With his leadership our two countries have moved forward in a strong bilateral relationship that was exemplified by his excellent meeting with President Bush in May. This strong relationship is growing and expanding in a number of positive ways and we look forward to discussing more ways to deepen our commercial and trade relationship even further.

Uruguay is very important to us because it already possesses the political and cultural institutions needed for growth and progress. U.S. Investment is strong here, especially in forestry, tourism, and agriculture. We expect that our bilateral investment treaty will generate increased investment flows. Over the past couple of years, the United States has become Uruguay’s largest export market. Uruguayan businesses and people in general have benefited from the creation of jobs and opportunities.

The U.S. is a demanding market, but it is also the largest one in the world and the one with the lowest average tariff. Every day, we import over 5 billion dollars in goods and services. Those who want to sell in the U.S. must study the market and adapt to it. To win business, the customer has to come first. It must be remembered that hope is not a strategy and reality is an acquired taste.

In the end, what governments can do is create or not create an environment which is conducive to business. Ultimately it is up to business people like you to take chances, to innovate, to make deals which will be at the heart of our growing trade relationship. Let us all remember, again, that the biggest asset of both countries is our youth. I hope you will all help make the next generation aware of the joys of entrepreneurialism and how to take advantage of the opportunities of doing business in the United States and here. These opportunities are literally limitless.

Thank you very much

 
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