President Issues Proclamation to Implement the Peru FTA Effective February 1, 2009
The President has issued a Proclamation to amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to implement the U.S. - Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (Free Trade Agreement, PFTA), effective for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after February 1, 2009.
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The Proclamation refers to three annexes. Annexes I and II contain the modifications to the HTS to implement the PFTA. Annex III contains HTS technical rectifications for the Morocco FTA, the Bahrain FTA, and Proclamation 8331 which implemented the DR-CAFTA for Costa Rica.
(These annexes are not part of the proclamation, but are instead in International Trade Commission (ITC) Publication 4058, which is posted to the ITC's Web site.)
According to the U.S. Trade Representative's office, on the first day the PFTA enters into force (February 1, 2009), 80 percent of U.S. industrial and consumer products and more than two-thirds of current U.S. farm exports will enter Peru duty-free, Among U.S. exports that will receive such treatment are technology products; mining, agricultural, and construction equipment; and agricultural products such as wheat, high quality beef, fruits and vegetables, and other processed foods.
In addition, the PFTA will remove barriers to U.S. services; provide a secure, predictable legal framework for investors; and provide strong protection for intellectual property, labor rights and the environment.
See future issue of ITT for a more detailed summary of the PFTA.
Proclamation available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2009/01/20090116-3.html
Proclamation annexes in ITC Publication 4058 (dated January 2009) available at http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/tata/hts/pub4058.pdf
USTR Press release (dated 01/16/09) available at http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2009/January/asset_upload_file35_15292.pdf