House set to pass Peru free-trade pact

Source: Miami Herald

BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com

President Bush speaks during the White House Forum on International Trade and Investment at the Eisenhower Office Building Nov. 6, 2007 in Washington, DC. Bush called on congress to pass free trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, Peru and South Korea.

WASHINGTON --

Ending a yearlong hiatus by Congress on free-trade deals, the House is set to approve a pact with Peru on Wednesday, cutting tariffs on U.S. exports and including --for the first time -- provisions that punish a country for not complying with labor and environment regulations.

This also marks the first such pact to pass since Bahrain was approved in September 2005, and the first since Democrats took control of Congress in January. The deal eliminates 80 percent of tariffs on U.S. exports immediately and the remainder over 10 years. Most Peruvian products already enjoy tariff-free access to the U.S. market.

Its passage was assured after Republican and Democratic negotiators agreed in May -- with the acquiescence of Peru -- to include stricter labor and environmental regulations, and Democratic leaders immediately signaled they were prepared to pass Peru and Panama, though not Colombia and South Korea.

The more trade-friendly Senate is expected to approve the Peru pact soon, possibly before Thanksgiving. But Peru is also a relatively uncontroversial appetizer to the much bigger battles looming over Colombia and South Korea amid a rising trade-skeptic sentiment among the U.S. public.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/299012.html

One more travesty to lay at the feet of Steny Hoyer and the DLC/BlueDogs.

a trade agreement which includes provisions that punish a country for not complying with labor and environment regulations?

but all in all, if we have to pass such an agreement, I'm glad they've made that kind of start.

they are so weak and full of holes. Just token meaningless clauses to provide cover for the rest of the scam we are pulling.

Every single free trade pact we have made, hugely increases the poverty in the country while making a few corrupt elites very very rich. Peru has had to agree to sign over all its rights to its natural resources. Privatization of all natural resources and pensions is mandatory.

If anyone in Peru objects, the corporate elites can sue them for loss of potential income, and win because our FTA says the corporate elites now have the right to income from Peru assets.