The US government reached agreement with the Peruvian officials to remove barriers for US beef exports to Peru that have remained in effect since 2003. In 2015, the United States exported $25.4 million in beef and beef products to Peru. Since the US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) entered into force in 2009, USDA says beef and beef products have grown, but have been hampered due to burdensome certification requirements installed by Peru in 2003.

“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,” says Tom Vilsack, USDA secretary. “Since 2003, USDA and USTR have worked diligently to reopen and expand markets once closed to US beef. This is another win in a long line of successes that led to a near-record US beef and beef product exports in 2015.”

Bilateral trade of agricultural, fish and forestry products between the United States and Peru topped $3 billion in 2015 and has grown more than 110 percent since 2009.

The agreement reached today 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 US 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.