The United States' withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership does not represent a change in the bilateral trade policy stance with Peru, according to the Foreign Trade Research and Development Institute (Idexcam) of the Lima Chamber of Commerce (CCL).
“We have a Free Trade Agreement that governs bilateral trade with the United States. Peru’s priority was not the U.S. market, but the new ones,” Idexcam CEO Carlos Posada told Andina news agency.
Peru’s interest mainly lies in Autralia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed the executive order to withdraw the United States from the TPP, previously inked by his predecessor Barack Obama to create the largest free-trade area in the globe.
“This move fulfills an election campaign pledge,” the CCL official said.
Opportunity
In any case, Posada affirmed the United States’ exit from the TPP is convenient for our country, as it prevents a series of detriments associated with the U.S. market.
He mentioned, for instance, Peru has excellent access to agro-export, fabric and apparel, and manufacturing industries through the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
“But if the TPP had passed, countries like Vietnam and Malaysia, our competitors, would have accessed the U.S. apparel sector with tariff preferences,” he said.
Bilateral talks
In light of the possibility that countries push for a TPP without the United States, Posada commented that the best bilateral negotiations for Peru have already occurred.
In this sense, what works best for Peru is to pursue bilateral talks with Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.
“If the TPP offered significant benefits to Peru, these shall not be missed out, because the possibility of trade deals with these new markets remains open,” Posada stated.
These economies, he continued, have a good impression of Peru, thanks to its open-trade policy
(END) SDD/MDV/RMB
Published: 1/24/2017