Overview
- U.S. authorities have implemented new duties on certain Peruvian agricultural goods, with some rates around 10% on products such as coffee, asparagus, blueberries and avocados.
- Peru’s agriculture exporters relied on about $4.4 billion in sales to the U.S. in 2024, and roughly half of key fruit and vegetable shipments go to that market.
- Producer groups and academics warn the added costs could jeopardize more than 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs as small and mid‑size farmers operate on 8%–10% margins.
- Ambassador Alfredo Ferrero has initiated talks in Washington seeking exclusions or reductions under the bilateral FTA, arguing the tariff level is negligible for the U.S. economy but damaging for Peru’s producers.
- Sector voices urge rapid mitigation through market diversification to the EU, Latin America and Asia, more value‑added processing, international certifications, logistics savings and use of tools like the agrarian promotion law and drawback, while some politicians say the impact could be manageable versus higher‑tariff competitors.