U.S. Chamber urges Congress to pass Peru trade promotion pact

U.S. Chamber urges Congress to pass Peru trade promotion pact    The United States Chamber of Commerce said Wednesday it welcomes the passage of the Peru-U.S. trade promotion agreement by a 79-14 margin Tuesday night in the Peruvian congress.
   “Peru sent a strong message last night about their commitment to strengthening their commercial relationship with the U.S. by becoming the first country to pass a bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. prior to approval in our Congress, said Lt. Gen. Dan Christman (Ret.), the chamber’s senior vice president of international affairs. 'It is high time we reciprocate. Passage of the agreement will not only open new markets for U.S. businesses large and small, it will send a strong message that the U.S. stands by its friends and allies in a region where leaders like Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales are vying for influence.”
   U.S. trade with Peru has doubled over the past three years, the chamber said. Two-way commerce reached $7.4 billion in 2005, eclipsing the total flow of trade covered by all our Middle Eastern and North African free trade agreements, which won overwhelming bipartisan support in the Congress.
   Exports to Peru face an average tariff of 9 percent, according to the World Bank. At the same time, 98 percent of all imports from Peru already enter the U.S. marketplace duty-free, and the average U.S. duty on imports from Peru is just 0.1 percent.
   “The agreement with Peru will put our trade relationship on a reciprocal, mutually beneficial footing,” Christman said.
   Four-fifths of U.S. consumer and industrial products and more than two-thirds of current U.S. farm exports will enter Peru duty-free upon implementation of the trade agreement, with other barriers phased out over a few years. It will also strengthen intellectual property and investor protections, open services markets, and enhance transparency in government procurement, according to the Chamber.