NAM welcomes implementation of Peru Trade Agreement.
Press Release Summary:
According to United States - Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, 80% of Peru's tariffs on U.S. manufactured goods will be eliminated, giving made-in-the-U.S. goods 13% price advantage over competitors. Last year, 98% of Peru's manufactured goods exports to U.S. came here duty-free, and U.S. now has same opportunity in Peru. United States has been paying over $500 million per year in import taxes to Peru, and that burden on U.S. competitiveness is now lifted.
Original Press Release:
NAM Welcomes Implementation Of Peru Trade Agreement
Vargo says Agreement Levels the Playing Field and Opens the Peru Market
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 16, 2009 -- The National Association of Manufacturers today expressed satisfaction that the United States - Peru Trade Promotion Agreement goes into effect today.
"As of today, roughly 80 percent of Peru's tariffs on U.S. manufactured goods will disappear immediately and the rest will follow in phases," Vargo said. "This will give made-in-the-U.S. manufactured goods a 13 percent price advantage over their competitors, and will give us a leg up in this $20 billion market for manufactured goods.
"This agreement levels the playing field because Congress has long given Peru's manufacturers open access to the U.S. market while we had to face stiff import duties in Peru," he said. "Last year, 98 percent of Peru's manufactured goods exports to the U.S. came here duty-free, and at last we can now have the same opportunity in Peru. We have been paying over $500 million a year in import taxes to Peru, and that burden on our competitiveness is now lifted.
"Last year American manufacturers sold $4.4 billion in U.S. manufactured goods to Peru, and this trade promotion agreement will be a huge help to U.S. firms as Peru and the rest of the world deal with a trade slowdown," Vargo said. "That slowdown is going to make Peru's importers sharpen their pencils and look for the best deals - and U.S. firms are now poised to be that best deal."
Vargo said the NAM will immediately ask the Commerce Department to work with U.S. manufacturers to help domestic companies - particularly smaller and medium-sized firms - take advantage of the newly-opened Peruvian market.
The National Association of Manufacturers is the nation's largest industrial trade association, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the NAM has 11 additional offices across the country. Visit the NAM's award-winning web site at www.nam.org for more information about manufacturing and the economy.
