Foreword
The Investment Policy Review of Uruguay assesses the investment climate in Uruguay and discusses the challenges and opportunities faced by the government. Capitalising on the OECD Policy Framework for Investment, the Review takes a broad approach to investment climate reforms in Uruguay and its continuous transition towards higher levels of development and well-being. Individual chapters are devoted to the overall economic performance and foreign investment trends, the reform of the state and state-owned enterprises, foreign investment regulations, the legal and institutional framework for investment protection, tax policy, investment promotion and facilitation, and policies to promote and enable responsible business conduct (RBC).
The Investment Policy Review of Uruguay was undertaken under the aegis of the OECD Investment Committee. The Ministry of Economy and Finance led the process within the Uruguayan government and established and convened an ad hoc inter-ministerial task force to assist in the process. This publication draws on the report supporting the assessment by the Investment Committee of Uruguay’s ability to comply with the principles of openness, transparency and non-discrimination and RBC practices and its policy convergence with the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, with the aim to adhere to this instrument. The Investment Committee meeting took place in July 2020 via virtual means in the presence of a delegation from Uruguay led by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The Review has been completed thanks to the engagement of two successive governments of Uruguay, showing the country’s commitment to the reform process.
The Review was prepared by a team led by Andrea Goldstein and Monika Sztajerowska and comprising Fernando Mistura, Joachim Pohl and Nicolas Rousselot from the Investment Division at the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprises Affairs; Marie Bouchard, Nicolas Hachez, Coralie Martin and Germán Zarama from the OECD RBC Centre; as well as Gioia de Mello and Luisa Dressler from the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. Ana Novik, Head of the Investment Division, provided overall guidance and Stephen Thomsen and Frédéric Wehrlé from the Investment Division and Froukje Boele from the OECD RBC Centre, provided additional guidance and comments. At various stages of preparation, the Review benefitted from inputs, comments and suggestions from other parts of the OECD Secretariat, including the Global Relations Secretariat (GRS) as well as colleagues at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in particular Federica Gómez Decker and Christian Volpe Martincus from the Integration and Trade Sector and Tomás Serebrisky from the Infrastructure and Environment Department, and at the World Bank, in particular Eduardo Olaberria from the Macroeconomics and Fiscal Management Global Practice.
The Review was prepared with the financial support of the European Commission, through the Transition in Development Facility (TDF). This support and the engagement of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO) and the European Union (EU) Delegation in Montevideo are gratefully acknowledged.