U.S. companies look to Montevideo as a regional hub for expanding export markets throughout Mercosur.

The U.S. may be mired in a full-blown recession, but economic activity and investment is surging here in the Southern Cone. Now Washington may finally be taking note, as evident by news yesterday out of Montevideo courtesy of El País. The U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay, David Nelson, told a gathering of businessmen at the Uruguayan Trade Chamber the U.S. is now encouraging more American companies to invest in the region in order to tap growing consumer demand in Mercosur countries Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. “As consumer demand has fallen in the U.S., our companies are looking for more export opportunities,” said Nelson adding, “(U.S.) companies are very interested in the region as a platform for investment and also a potential market for exports.” Speaking about Uruguay specifically, Nelson says favorable tariff reductions at the San Juan Mercosur Summit has the U.S. eyeballing Uruguay as a regional distribution center. “In the last two weeks, I visited several free trade ports and companies investing in regional distribution logistics, and I see a very interesting possibility for American companies working together with Uruguayan partners to achieve this objective of export expansion.” In closing, the Ambassador reiterated the most salient talking point for any company considering regional expansion based in Uruguay, “”Uruguay is a very interesting country for investment given its political and economic stability as well as its human resource wealth.” (Full article in Spanish)

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