Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 3/15/16



USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman have announced that the U.S. government has reached agreement with the government of Peru to remove barriers for U.S. beef exports to Peru that have remained in effect since 2003, the agencies said in a news release.

Peru is one of the fastest-growing markets in Latin America. In 2015, the United States exported $25.4 million in beef and beef products to the country. Since the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) entered into force in 2009, U.S. beef and beef products have grown substantially but have been hampered due to burdensome certification requirements installed by Peru in 2003. The new agreement, reached during Secretary Vilsack's trade and investment mission to Peru this week, removes those barriers — called the export verification program — and assures American ranchers of expanded market access.

"Since 2009, the United States and Peru have enjoyed one of the strongest bilateral trade relationships in the Western Hemisphere, and today it became much stronger," said Vilsack after meeting with officials from the government of Peru. "This is another win in a long line of successes that led to a near-record U.S. beef and beef product exports in 2015."

The new agreement reflects the United States' negligible risk classification for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Through an exchange of letters, the United States and Peru have agreed to changes in certification statements that will allow beef and beef products from all federally inspected U.S. establishments to be eligible for export to Peru, rather than only those beef and beef products from establishments that participated in the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Export Verification (EV) programs under the previous certification requirements.

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