Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Eduardo Ferreyros on Wednesday reiterated the U.S. imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum does not directly affect Peru, since both countries rely on a Free Trade Agreement.
"In principle, if the measure is to raise those tariffs, Peru won't be affected because we rely on an FTA with the United States, on which our tariffs are anchored," Ferreyros told RPP radio and TV news station.
As is known,
U.S. President Donald J. Trump last week signed an order imposing a tariff of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, which has aroused fears of a protectionism wave in global trade.
According to Peru's private-run Foreign Trade Society (ComexPeru),
non-traditional shipments to the North American market accumulated a 97% growth since the Peru-U.S. FTA took effect, in the period comprised between February 2009 and December 2016.
In this sense, the value of non-traditional
exports to the U.S. grew at an average annual rate of 10.2% in the aforementioned period (from US$1.568 billion to US$3.090 billion).
The business guild also pointed out
Peru's total exports to the North American market grew 30% eight years after the FTA came into force.
(END) CNA/JAA/MVB