Peru, South Korea finalize trade deal

Peru and South Korea have finalized negotiations and reached an agreement on a bilateral free trade agreement which could come into force towards the beginning of 2011, Foreign Trade Minister Martin Perez said.

“The FTA will come into force in the first months of 2011. Before, both governments will submit the trade agreement for a legal revision which will finish in November,” daily La Republica reported Perez as saying. Read more…

MTC: Broad band prices expected to fall as Peru sees jump in users

Broad band prices in Peru are expected to see a decrease in 2011 thanks to an increase in competition in the telecommunications sector, Transportation and Communications Minister Enrique Cornejo said.

“Even though we have worked to grow the market and the number of users in the last few years, individual rates are still high,” state news agency Andina reported Cornejo as saying. Read more…

Peru, Panama set goals for bilateral trade talks

The governments of Peru and Panama agreed on Thursday to start negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement by the end of the year, daily El Comercio reported.

The decision to go ahead with negotiations for a trade deal followed a meeting in Lima between President Alan Garcia and his Panamanian counterpart, Ricardo Martinelli. Read more…

Peru has region’s second most attractive investment climate

Peru’s investment climate is the second most attractive in South America after Brazil, according to a survey of 166 executives by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

Eighteen percent of those surveyed said Peru was the most attractive in the region for investing, compared to 41 percent for Brazil. Colombia was third in the survey at 15 percent followed by Chile at 13 percent and Argentina at 8 percent, daily El Comercio reported. Read more…

Peru exports to Brazil via Transoceanic South highway could start by year’s-end

Peruvian exports to Brazil via the Transoceanic South highway may start by the end of the year, state news agency Andina reported Peru’s Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister, Martin Perez, as saying.

“There are high expectations for the use the Transoceanic South in both Brazil and Peru,” Perez said. “Authorities from the [Brazilian] states of Acre, Rondonia and Mato Grosso have offered to organize a joint program to begin trade between the two countries.” Read more…

Corrected: Gov’t does not see economy overheating as June GDP soars

Peru’s national statistic and technology bureau INEI ruled out that the country’s economy is overheating following a red hot 11.9 jump in the gross domestic product in June compared to same month last year, state news agency Andina reported.

“The overheating of an economy happens when demand exceeds the productive capacity,” INEI chief Renán Quispe said. “It is a process that can take numerous months, it can take at times one or two years.”

Peru’s economy expanded for the eleventh month in a row and reached a 21-month high in June. Read more…

Peru becomes Canada’s top destination for exports in South America

Peru has overtaken Brazil as the largest exporter to Canada from a South American nation, state news agency Andina reported.

Peruvian exports to Canada in 2009 increased 17.3 percent to $2.76 billion, while Brazil’s exports fell 4 percent to $2.47 billion.

Peru and Canada signed a free trade deal in 2008. The agreement immediately eliminated tariffs on 97 percent of Peruvian exports to Canada, with the remaining tariffs to be phased out over three to seven years. The deal also eliminates tariffs on 94 percent of Canadian exports to Peru, with the rest to be lifted over a period of five to 10 years

Peru’s principal exports to Canada are gold, copper, asparagus and fishmeal, while its major imports are grains, machinery, electrical equipment, leguminous vegetables and paper. Read more…

Peru’s indigenous to launch political party

Indigenous groups in Peru’s Amazon region will launch a political party to compete in the country’s 2011 elections, Spanish news agency Efe reported the head of the Interethnic Association for the Development of Peru’s Jungle (Aidesep), Alberto Pizango, as saying.

The party will be called the Alliance for an Alternative for Humanity, or APHU, Pizango said. They are currently collecting signatures and plan to officially register the party in September. Read more…

Peru’s executive repeals state of emergency in district following natural gas protests

Peru’s executive has repealed a state of emergency that was declared in early August in Echarate district in Cusco department, state news agency Andina reported.

President Alan Garcia signed the supreme decree on Wednesday to void the state of emergency, which suspends some constitutional rights including the freedom to hold meetings and of movement. Read more…

Residents suspend protests over natural gas exports

Residents in the towns of Kiteni and Kepashiato in Cuzco deparmtent’s La Convención province have suspended protests over natural gas exports, according to reports in Peruvian media.

The decision to halt the demonstrations was made in order to establish a negotiating table on Monday, Aug. 9, newspaper La Republica reported.

The president of Cuzco department, Hugo Gonzales, said the protesters also want Peru’s government to repeal a state of emergency in the district of Echarate, which suspends some constitutional rights including the freedom to hold meetings and of movement.

The negotiating table will be created by the office of Prime Minister Javier Velásquez and include representatives from Peru’s ombudsman – the Defensoria del Pueblo – as well as the Peruvian Episcopal Conference. Read more…

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