Senate Votes 77-18 to Approve Peru Free Trade Agreement
On December 5, 2007, the United States Senate voted
77-18 to approve the
U.S.-Peru
Trade Promotion Agreement
as reported by the Washington Post
here.
The Senate approval comes after the House voted
285 to 132 to approve the agreement. The
agreement will now be sent to the President for
approval.
The Washington Post reports that this agreement is
the first bilateral trade agreement approved by
Congress this year and is also the first under a
Democratic formula that requires negotiators to put
labor rights and environmental standards on par
with tariff reductions, investor protections, and
other key elements of the accord.
As reported, the agreement:
The Administration is now urging Congress to approve three other pending bilateral trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.It would immediately eliminate duties on 80 percent of U.S. consumer and industrial product sales to Peru and most agriculture goods, and gradually phase out all tariffs. Almost all Peruvian goods already enjoy duty-free status under trade breaks the United States extends to Andean nations to boost their economies and provide alternatives to illicit drug production.