Peru is making progress in negotiations to establish a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Uruguay, the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism announced. Mincetur plans to present a document to the Uruguayan government as an initial step to develop a roadmap in this regard. José Luis Castillo, general director of Mincetur’s Directorate of International Trade Negotiations, explained that although Peru has a trade agreement with Uruguay through Mercosur (the Economic Complementarity Agreement No. 58), this is limited to trade in goods. The new FTA seeks to expand this relationship to include issues such as services, investments and specific requirements of origin. The current ACE 58 has limitations, such as specific exclusions for products such as ethyl alcohol, sugar and used tyres, as well as outstanding origin requirements for approximately 800 products, mainly in the textile sector. In October of last year, Mincetur officials and Uruguay’s ambassador to Peru explored the possibility of strengthening ACE 58 and bilateral relations. During this visit, there was particular interest on the part of Peru in learning from Uruguay’s Free Trade Zone model, with a view to implementing similar improvements in its own system. The negotiations for an FTA between Peru and Uruguay represent a step forward in economic and trade integration between the two countries, seeking to address areas that are not fully covered by the current Mercosur agreement.
The third edition of the Sustainable Uruguay Expo, organized by the Ministry of Environment,...
