LIMA, PERU—Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez today led a U.S. delegation of Members of Congress and the Mayor of Boston to Lima, Peru, to meet with Peruvian President Alan Garcia to discuss opportunities the pending trade agreement provides for promoting economic growth, opportunity and development.
Secretary Gutierrez thanked President Garcia and the Peruvian people for being an important ally, and noted the Peru agreement would advance the longstanding friendship and trading relationship between the two nations.
"This trade deal will boost exports and jobs in both countries – we can grow our economies together," said Gutierrez. "We appreciate the efforts President Garcia has made to address labor issues and are delighted by the opportunity to see first-hand how our trade relationship can grow once Congress approves the Peru trade agreement." "Congress has already provided Peru with duty free access to the U.S. market. This agreement provides the same access for U.S. exporters," Gutierrez added.
In 2006, the combined total two-way trade between the United States and Peru was over $8.8 billion. U.S. exports to Peru totaled $2.9 billion in 2006. U.S. export growth to Peru outperformed overall U.S. exports. From 2002 to 2006 exports to Peru expanded by 88 percent, well above the 50 percent growth of overall U.S. exports.
Gutierrez and the Congressional delegation also met with local labor leaders, labor experts, students and workers to discuss employment conditions in Peru and the effects they expect to see from the Peru agreement. This included a delegation visit to SENATI, a public-private partnership dedicated to professional education and vocational training for the Peruvian manufacturing sector.
The U.S. delegation is as follows: Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA-5), Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT), Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY-7), Rep. David Dreier (R-CA-26), Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL-14), Rep. Wally Herger Jr. (R-CA-2), Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX-15), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY-6), Rep. Jim McCrery (R-LA-4), and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D).
Since 1993, most Peruvian exports to the United States have benefited from duty free treatment as a result of unilateral U.S. programs – the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Since the renewal and expansion of the ATPDEA in 2002, almost 98 percent of Peru's exports today enter the United States duty-free while U.S. exports face tariffs of up to 20 percent.
The Peru trade agreement moves beyond one-way preferences to full partnership and reciprocal commitments. The agreement would allow U.S. businesses and agriculture to enjoy the same duty-free access to Peru's growing market that Peru enjoys in the United States.
The countries with which the United States implemented free trade agreements represent just 7.5 percent of global GDP, yet more than 42 percent of all U.S. exports are headed to the United States' 14 trade agreement partners. Last year, U.S. merchandise exports to the 11 countries with which the United States implemented trade agreements between 2001 and 2006 grew four percentage points faster than they did to the rest of the world. Exports to those 11 countries grew at 18.1 percent while exports to the rest of the world grew at 14.2 percent.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
