17:59 | Auckland (New Zealand), Feb. 03.
On behalf of the Republic of Peru, Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Magali Silva has just inked the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement in New Zealand.
The signing ceremony also saw the participation of Peruvian Foreign Trade Deputy Minister Edgar Vasquez and the Negotiating Team's head Jose Luis Castillo.
TPP is composed of 12 member countries of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). It aims to promote economic growth, enhance innovation, productivity and competitiveness, as well as reduce poverty, among others.
Over recent years, Peru has moved towards trade openness and global integration, leading to positive results for national exports, especially non-traditional ones.
"We have [signed] 17 Free Trade Agreements, currently in force with 52 countries, which have allowed the country to carry out exports by relying on tariff preferences and thus position Peruvian products on those markets," the Minister underlined hours ago.
Peru expressed its willingness to join the TPP bloc within the framework of the APEC Peru 2008 Summit held in Lima.
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, United States, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam and Peru belong to the trade bloc hosting 805 million consumers, which accounts for nearly 40% of global GDP.
TPP —whose negotiations concluded on October 5th, 2015— is the world's most important trade bloc.
(END) HMC/MVB
Published: 2/3/2016