Speaking on Friday at the signing of the agreement with Aruba's Prime Minister, Nelson Oduber, Treasury Secretary, John Snow praised the close and cooperative relationship between the two countries in matters of law enforcement and tax evasion, and explained that:

"We have an obligation to enforce our tax laws, because failing to do so undermines the confidence of honest taxpayers in the fairness of the US tax system. Access to needed information is vital to our efforts to ensure full and fair enforcement of our civil and criminal laws."

He went on to add:

"This new tax information exchange agreement we are signing today is the ninth such agreement the United States has signed with a significant financial center in the last two years. It is the first such agreement that I will have the privilege to sign, and I do not intend it to be the last. I hope that Aruba's cooperation with the United States will serve as an example to other financial centers in the region and around the world."