Relations between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

traditionally have been based on a common outlook and emphasis on democratic ideals.

History

In historical perspective, starting in the 1890s Uruguay took the lead in reaching out to the U.S. in order to counter the heavy British business presence. The U.S. responded in friendly fashion. Knarr argues: :The United States did not need to coerce Uruguay economically, politically, or militarily to achieve its goals; Uruguay was a friendly and stable nation that the United States could use as an economic and political gateway into the Southern Cone. In 2002, The United States and Uruguay created a Joint Commission on Trade and Investment (JCTI) to exchange ideas on a variety of economic topics. In March 2003, the JCTI identified six areas of concentration until the eventual signing of the

Free Trade Area of the Americas The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas, excluding Cuba. Negotiations to establish the FTAA ended in failure, however, with all parties unab ...

(FTAA): customs issues,

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

protection, investment, labor,

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

, and trade in goods. In late 2004, the United States and Uruguay signed an

Open Skies The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country's airlines the privilege to enter and land in another country's airspace. They were formulated as a result of disagreements over the extent of aviation liberalis ...

Agreement, which was ratified in May 2006. In November 2005, they signed a

Bilateral Investment Treaty A bilateral investment treaty (BIT) is an bilateral treaty, agreement establishing the terms and conditions for private investment by nationals and companies of one Sovereign state, state in another state. This type of investment is called foreign ...

(BIT), which entered into force on November 1, 2006. A

Trade and Investment Framework Agreement A Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) is a trade pact that establishes a framework for expanding trade and resolving outstanding disputes between countries. TIFAs are often seen as an important step towards establishing Free Trade ...

(TIFA) was signed in January 2007. More than 80 U.S.-owned companies operate in Uruguay, and many more market U.S. goods and services. Uruguay cooperates with the U.S. on

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

matters such as regional efforts to fight

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. It has also been very active in

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

issues. From 1999 through early 2003, Uruguayan citizens were exempted from

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

s when entering the United States under the

Visa Waiver Program The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the United States federal government that allows nationals of specific countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. It ...

. This exemption was withdrawn on April 16, 2003, based on the high overstay rates for Uruguayans and worldwide national security concerns. Under

Tabaré Vázquez Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas (; ''Vázquez Rosas'' locally ; 17 January 19406 December 2020) was a Uruguayan politician who served as the 41st president of Uruguay from 2015 to 2020. He previously served from 2005 to 2010 as the 39th presiden ...

President of Uruguay The president of Uruguay ( es, Presidente del Uruguay), officially known as the president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (), is the head of state and head of government of Uruguay. Their rights are determined in the Constitution of Urugua ...

from 2005 to 2010 and 2015 to 2020,

has taken positions on a number of issues which are very markedly different from those of the

. However, under his right-wing successor, president

Luis Lacalle Pou Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (; ''Luis Lacalle'' locally or ; born 10 August 1973) is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer serving as President of Uruguay since 1 March 2020. Son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle ...

, since 2020, United States-Uruguay relations have again improved and strengthened. Nevertheless, Vázquez sought the help of President

George W Bush George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

in the face of the crisis with

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

around the

Uruguay River pulp mill dispute The pulp mill dispute was a dispute between Argentina and Uruguay concerning the construction of pulp mills on the Uruguay River. The presidents at the time were Néstor Kirchner (Argentina) and Tabaré Vázquez (Uruguay). As a diplomatic, econom ...

. According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 40% of

Uruguayans Uruguayans ( es, uruguayos) are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, b ...

approve of U.S. leadership, with 22% disapproving and 38% uncertain.U.S. Global Leadership Project Report - 2012
'' Gallup''

Principal U.S. Embassy officials

Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

-- Karl Ríos

Principal Uruguayan Embassy officials

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

-- Andrés Durán Hareau

Resident diplomatic missions

* United States has an embassy in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

. * Uruguay has an embassy in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and has consulates-general in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. File:U.S. Embassy in Montevideo.jpg, Embassy of the United States in Montevideo File:Embassy of Uruguay - Washington, D.C.jpg, Embassy of Uruguay in Washington, D.C.

Country comparison

References

External links

History of Uruguay - U.S. relations

Uruguayan-American Foundation (UAF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States-Uruguay relations