[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 171 (Tuesday, November 6, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H12741]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                UNITED STATES-PERU FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

  Mr. WELLER of Illinois. Good morning, and thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  This week, the House will vote on a trade agreement between the 
United States and Peru. By moving forward on the U.S.-Peru Free Trade 
Agreement we are signaling that the United States will not retreat from 
trade and will maintain its commitment to its partners.
  I note that my district depends on exports, both farmers, 
manufacturers, and workers, and the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement is 
good for the 11th District of Illinois. This agreement is about 
economics; it is about the big picture of our hemisphere. We know the 
numbers.
  For the United States, on day one, 80 percent of our exports, 
consumer and industrial products, become duty free immediately. 
Illinois' small and medium enterprises will benefit greatly from the 
tariff elimination, as well as its largest employer in the district I 
represent, Caterpillar. Union workers who build world-famous 
Caterpillar machinery will benefit when their products such as off-
highway trucks are no longer taxed when they arrive in Peru. These 
vehicles sell for about $1 million and face a 12 percent tariff, 
meaning $120,000 is added to the price of the vehicle. That goes away 
on day one, making Caterpillar equipment more competitive with Asian 
competition, and meaning Caterpillar's union workers will build more 
machinery for export.
  The Peru TPA is good for Illinois farmers. Soybeans become duty free 
immediately, meaning new markets for our farmers. Before this 
agreement, Illinois pork and corn were at a competitive disadvantage to 
Chile and Argentina, who faced lower tariffs than the United States' 
products going into Peru. Now, our pork producers and corn farmers will 
be competitive. In fact, farmers' groups say Peru and the Colombia Free 
Trade Agreements are the best deals ever negotiated on behalf of 
agriculture. In fact, the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement has the 
potential to increase farm exports by well over $700 million a year. We 
benefit from two-way trade.
  But this agreement has broader implications beyond increasing exports 
for Illinois farmers and manufacturers. Peru is a leader in the 
hemisphere, and the leadership of President Toledo and now President 
Garcia is making a difference. Poverty is being reduced, real jobs are 
being created, and Peru is becoming an economic success story for the 
hemisphere. Peru is achieving results at home not by following anti-
American rhetoric or by giving in to populist demagoguery, but by sound 
economics and partnerships with the United States. We congratulate 
President Garcia on his 8 percent economic growth and poverty 
reduction, and I note poverty is down to 49 percent this past year. 
This trade agreement is not the solution to poverty, but it is a tool 
and it will help.
  In 1994, 270,000 jobs in Peru relied on exports; today, more than 1 
million rely on exports, thanks to trade granted by Andean Trade 
Preferences granted by this Congress. Now, this agreement has the 
potential to create 1 million more formal jobs in Peru because of 
exports. Clearly, this partnership with Peru will help lift more 
families out of poverty.
  The U.S.-Peru partnership also has broader implications. Coca 
production is down 70 percent since 1995. Today, Peru is a hemispheric 
leader in security, helping with peacekeeping in Haiti and is hosting a 
campus of the International Law Enforcement Academy. Peruvians elected 
President Garcia to maintain the independence of the country from 
extremist ideology and to continue on a moderate path.
  Now is the time to complete the trade commitment with Peru. Peruvians 
and people across the hemisphere are waiting to see what the United 
States is going to do and whether we are going to answer the question, 
are we going to stand by our commitments to our friends?
  I urge my colleagues to pass the Peru Free Trade Agreement this week 
with a strong bipartisan vote. Let's strengthen the U.S.-Peru 
partnership that is good for both the United States and is good for 
Peru.




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