signed between the two economies.
The agreement marks a new milestone in Peru's trade integration with Asia, providing greater certainty and predictability for Peruvian exports, expanding opportunities for Peruvian goods, services, and service providers, and helping strengthen bilateral trade relations.
Hong Kong is the sixth-largest Asian destination for Peruvian non-traditional exports, so the FTA will further expand the presence of higher value-added Peruvian products in that market.
The official explained that negotiations for the FTA began in 2022, and the agreement was signed in November 2024.
"It has now entered into force, and it is a comprehensive agreement covering trade in goods and services—including financial services—as well as matters related to intellectual property protection; in other words, it is a fairly broad and comprehensive agreement," he told the Official Gazette El Peruano.
Benefits
According to the Mincetur representative, the FTA with Hong Kong contributes to Peru's strategy of consolidating its position in the Asia-Pacific region.
"The goal is to turn Peru into a hub for South America with a view toward the Asia-Pacific region, and this FTA, alongside the agreements signed with other Asian economies, will allow us to achieve that goal," Castillo stated.
Among the agreement's benefits are tariff reductions for both parties (zero tariffs), as well as chapters on sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
"These measures will provide greater transparency and predictability in the application of technical sanitary requirements for products from Peru and Hong Kong," Castillo stated.
"This will facilitate the entry of Peruvian products into that important Asian market," he noted.
The Mincetur representative also highlighted the issue of trade in services.
"The agreement contains provisions establishing a stable legal framework for exporting and importing services without restrictions," Castillo noted.
"This creates opportunities both for cross-border trade in services and for services such as software, mobile applications, and audiovisual content, among others," he explained.
The official said this will enable partnerships between Peruvian and Hong Kong companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a view to exporting services to China.
Upcoming agreements
The Mincetur official noted that the Chancay Megaport provides a direct route from Peru to Asia and has reduced the number of days needed to reach that market.
"This opens up a range of possibilities for Peruvian perishable products, as they could not previously be marketed because of the travel time. This is essential," he detailed.
Castillo said that among the agreements currently under negotiation is an FTA with the United Arab Emirates, which has already gone through three negotiation rounds.
"We have negotiations underway with India, as well as accession negotiations, such as Costa Rica's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)," the official indicated.
"We are also expanding our bilateral agreement with Uruguay, which covers trade in goods, and complementing it with other provisions related to trade in services and investment," he pointed out.
Data
- In 2025, Peruvian exports to Hong Kong totaled US$237.8 million.
- Traditional exports, which account for 40.27%, consist mainly of gold shipments.
- Non-traditional exports, which represent 59.73%, were driven by the agriculture and livestock sector.
- Peruvian imports from Hong Kong totaled US$28.6 million. The sectors with the largest shares were steel (34.3%), chemicals (22.9%), and metalworking (19.2%).
(END) DOP/SDD/MVB