Like most Latin American states, Uruguay's economy depends largely on commodity exports. Agriculture is a particularly important sector, though Uruguay also serves as a regional banking and transshipment hub through its Atlantic port capital of Montevideo. Uruguay's geography and location have been key in shaping its economic relationships. Sandwiched between the much larger countries of Brazil and Argentina in the Southern Cone of South America and with little in terms of geographic barriers, Uruguay historically has been a buffer state. Traditionally, Uruguay's imperative has been to balance between the two states. This is reflected in its trade relationships: Brazil and Argentina are major export destinations for Uruguayan goods (17 percent and 5 percent, respectively) and are the two largest of Uruguay's import partners at 17 percent and 15 percent of total goods. Uruguay also uses this balance as a means to exact concessions from both states.