created a Joint Commission on Trade and Investment (JCTI) to exchange ideas on a variety of economic topics. The Commission served as an important mechanism for the two countries to work to enhance and broaden their trade relationship, and facilitated the successful negotiation of the United States - Uruguay Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), which entered into force on November 1, 2006. The United States and Uruguay signed the United States - Uruguay TIFA on January 25, 2007. The TIFA established the United States - Uruguay Trade and Investment Council (TIC) and serves as a mechanism to further deepen the trade and investment dialogue. On October 2, 2008, both governments signed protocols to the TIFA covering substantive commitments in the areas of trade facilitation and public participation in trade and environment. The TIFA contains an annex that established a work program calling for the two governments to address such matters as liberalization of bilateral trade and investment, intellectual property rights, regulatory issues, information and communications technology and electronic commerce, trade facilitation, trade and technical capacity building, trade in services, government procurement, and cooperation on sanitary and phytosanitary measures. The annex provides for the TIC to add other matters to the work program. In implementing the TIFA, both parties reconfirmed their commitment to expand economic opportunities between Uruguay and the United States while simultaneously coordinating their efforts to promote greater trade liberalization through the World Trade Organization (WTO). See also Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) References External links Office of the United States Trade Representative TIFA Agreement/Fact with the Republic of China (Taiwan) US and the ASEAN Press, U.S., Uruguay Hold Trade and Investment Council Meeting International trade law Foreign direct investment