· Peru is already an important market for America’s farmers and ranchers. In 2008, the United States exported a record $425 million of agricultural products to Peru. Our top exports to the market were corn, wheat, cotton, and horticultural products.

· With the Agreement in force as of February 2009, agricultural trade between the United States and Peru will change from a one-way street to a two-way street.

· Many agricultural commodities will benefit from the agreement as more than two-thirds of current U.S. farm exports to Peru will became duty-free immediately upon implementation and the remaining tariffs will be eliminated within 15 years.

· Upon implementation of the agreement, U.S. agricultural exports now receive duty-free treatment on nearly 90 percent of current trade and all tariffs phased out for the remaining products. Peru’s preferential treatment will be made permanent.

· Peru immediately upon implementation eliminated duties on soybeans, soybean meal, crude soybean oil, high quality beef, almost all fruit and vegetable products, wheat, sorghum, peanuts, whey, cotton, and the vast majority of processed products.

· The agreement also provides duty-free tariff rate quotas (or TRQs) on standard beef cuts, chicken leg quarters, yellow corn, rice, and dairy products.

· On the regulatory side, Peru has put in place OIE-consistent import measures on meat and poultry and addressed other SPS and technical standards issues. Peru has agreed to recognize the equivalence of the U.S. meat and poultry inspection systems.

· In addition, the Agreement commits the United States to prioritizing Peru for trade capacity building programs to assist Peru in fully benefiting from this new partnership.

· The American Farm Bureau Federation predicts that this agreement, now fully implemented, could provide $705 million in gains each year for American agriculture. In addition, the free trade agreement with Peru is supported by over 60 U.S. agricultural and food associations.