includes three pillars: risk evaluation, opening new markets, and support for exporting companies.
"The sectors that would be primarily involved with these tariffs and where there could be effects are agriculture, forestry, and minerals. So, based on that, we had to see what measures we could adopt and what we needed to prepare for," she added.
The Cabinet member indicated that the other two pillars of the action plan relate to opening new trade opportunities and supporting exporting companies so they can enter with their products.
"Continuing the work of market opening is important, since we didn’t know how high a potential tariff might be or whether it could have a strong impact, and we needed to see which markets our exporters could be directed to. For example, right now we are working on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India and also exploring new possibilities with Japan," Leon said.
"The last issue in our action plan is supporting Peruvian exporting companies so they can reach these new markets, because sanitary protocols and the needs are not the same. We have to support them in that process," she added.
The high-ranking official noted that it is still too early to provide a figure or percentage regarding the impact on Peru’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as the assessment is still ongoing.
"It is premature, but what we can mention is that this measure could affect blueberries, fresh grapes, unroasted coffee, fresh asparagus, and fresh avocados. Others could be processed foods such as fish oil or canned artichokes," Leon stated.
"We have requested meetings with U.S. authorities to substantiate that Peru can continue with a 0% tariff on our export products and that they do not affect the trade balance," she added.
The minister also pointed out that her sector is working in coordination with the Ministries of Agrarian Development-Irrigation, Economy-Finance, Production, and Foreign Affairs to evaluate the measures announced by the U.S. Government, with the goal of anticipating the estimated impacts and proposing strategies for the various scenarios.
(END) CNA/JMP/MVB