United States Seeks To Promote Trade With Peru

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

17 April 2006

US Trade Representative Rob Portman and Peruvian Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism Alfredo Ferrero Diez Canseco last Wednesday signed the United States – Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA), a comprehensive agreement that will eliminate tariffs and other barriers to goods and services and expand trade between the two nations.

"Signing this agreement today confirms the strong ties between the people of Peru and the United States," announced Ambassador Portman, continuing:

"This all-inclusive agreement will promote increased economic activity and commercial prosperity for both of our nations. PTPA will spur new export opportunities for U.S. businesses, manufacturers, farmers, and ranchers, expand choices for consumers and will help create jobs in the United States. For Peru, this agreement will significantly increase opportunities for economic growth and serve as a catalyst to further develop and modernize their own economy."

"This agreement with Peru is instrumental in our strategy to advance prosperity within our hemisphere," he added. "We hope to bring Colombia and Ecuador into this agreement as soon as they are ready so no one misses out on the benefits of trade. We look forward to continuing to build bipartisan support for the U.S. – Peru Trade Promotion Agreement in both houses of Congress in order to quickly approve this high-quality pact."

Upon implementation of this agreement, eighty percent of consumer and industrial products and more than two-thirds of current U.S. farm exports to Peru will become duty-free immediately. Over the coming years, Peru will continue to provide substantial market access to U.S. goods, services and agricultural products by gradually eliminating all tariffs on U.S. exports to Peru.

The agreement will also provide a secure, predictable legal framework for US investors operating in Peru, provide for enforcement of quality labor and environmental standards, protect intellectual property rights, and install an effective dispute settlement process.

Many products from Peru already enter the U.S. market duty-free under the Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA), which expires in 2006. This new agreement helps Peru in a number of ways including expanding ATPA and locking in duty free status for Peru.

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