LIMA, Peru – The United States and Peru reached an agreement that is expected to increase exports of US beef to Peru, the US Dept. of Agriculture reported.

Ambassador Michael Froman
US Trade Representative Michael Froman

US classification as a negligible risk for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) led to the agreement. Peru implemented certification requirements in 2003 that hampered exports of US to that country. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and US Trade Representative Michael Froman led a trade mission to Peru in an effort to remove the burdensome requirements.

“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,” Vilsack said after meeting with government officials from Peru. “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.”

Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack

USDA said exports of US beef and beef products to Peru totaled $25.4 million in 2015. The agreement between the US and Peru will allow beef and beef products from all federally inspected US establishments to be eligible for export to Peru. Previously, only beef and beef products from establishments that participated in the USDA’s Export Verification (EV) programs were eligible for export to Peru.