Peru-U.S. NAFTA Expansion: Overview
This page is no longer being updated by Public Citizen and exists for archival purposes only.
The Peru NAFTA Expansion was passed and signed by the Bush administration in late 2007, even though a majority of Democrats voted against the agreement. This FTA replicates the failed NAFTA and CAFTA model – guaranteed to cost more quality jobs, bankrupt more farmers, and give more power to corporations to use international trade tribunals to attack U.S. sovereignty.
There have already been signs pointing to how the Peru FTA is a disaster for many Peruvians. Public Citizen and others warned, before the FTA’s passage, that it would incentivize destruction of the environmentally sensitive Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Sure enough, within months of the FTA’s implementation, huge parts of rainforest were slated for oil and gas exploration, leading to massive protests by Peruvian indigenous people living in the targeted areas. A violent police crackdown ensued, and it is likely that unrest will continue, thanks to the Peru FTA’s investment rules protecting corporations wishing to exploit the Amazon for profit.
As one might expect, the people of Peru did not want this agreement. In April of 2006, the National Electoral Council of Peru certified nearly 60,000 signatures submitted by anti-FTA coalitions to request a referendum on the deal. However, when the June 2006 Peruvian elections resulted in a majority for parties that were critical of the FTA, the lame-duck (post-election, but pre-new congressional term) Peruvian Congress resolved to ignore the petition and, despite broad calls for it to be considered by the newly elected Congress, the lame-duck session in Peru approved the agreement.
- Find out more on the blog: Read the latest on trade with Peru on Eyes on Trade
Reports and Memos | Press Room | Congress Speaks Out | Civil Society Speaks Out
Public Citizen Factsheets, Reports & Memos
- U.S.-Peru FTA Investor Rights: Lessons Learned and New Approaches Needed for TPP (available in Spanish here) (November 28, 2012)
- Renco Uses U.S.-Peru FTA to Evade Justice for La Oroya Pollution (available in Spanish here) (November 28, 2012)
- Renco Group Uses Trade Pact Foreign Investor Provisions to Chill Peru’s Environment and Health Policy, Undermine Justice (March 1, 2012)
- Backgrounder: Corporations Put Before Community Health in Renco Group v. Peru Case (June 30, 2011)
- Investor Rules Not Fixed by Preamble Change (June 14, 2011)
- Table of Foreign Investor-State Cases and Claims Under NAFTA-Style Deals (April 2011)
- Blog Post: FTAs = Destabilization (June 30, 2009)
- Blog Post: More potentially good news from Peru (June 17, 2009)
- Blog Post: Breaking: Another win in Peru (June 10, 2009)
- Blog Post: FTA-Spawned Crisis Continues in Peru (June 8, 2009)
- Blog Post: A Terrifying Way to Start the Weekend (June 5, 2009)
- Peru-U.S. “Free Trade Agreement” Would Help Lock In Failed Social Security Privatization in Peru – Join Report by Americans for Democratic Action, U.S. Action and Public Citizen (June 2007)
Read more Factsheets and Reports.
Public Citizen Press Releases & Statements
- On Fifth Anniversary of Peru FTA Bagua Massacre of Indigenous Protestors, State Department Cables Published on Wikileaks Reveal U.S. Role (June 9, 2014)
- Peru’s Efforts to Clean Up La Oroya Should Not be Stopped by an Investor-State Lawsuit (Spanish) (March 30, 2012)
Read more Press Releases and Statements.
Members of Congress Speak Out
- Representatives Blumenauer and Kind Lead Letter to USTR on Importance of Trade Enforcement (July 28, 2015)
- Rep. Carnahan Urges Peruvian Government Officials to Encourage Renco to Comply with Environmental Commitments (March 30, 2012)
- Rep. Grijalva Leads House Reps in Asking State & Treasury Departments to Urge Renco to Drop its Investor-State Claim Against Peru (March 29, 2012)
Read more letters here.
Civil Society Organizations Speak Out
- Groups Call on Obama to Push Peru’s President on Trade, Forestry and Indigenous Rights – An Open Letter to President Obama
- Public Citizen and Environmental Groups write to Clinton and Geithner about dispute between Renco Group and Government of Peru (March 31, 2011)
Read more letters here.
Other Resources
Read more articles here.