On Friday, Peru and Thailand will sign a free-trade agreement in Singapore at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum that will eliminate tariffs covering 5,000 commercial products. Last year, trade between the two countries was valued at $350 million.
But the agreement also will help Thailand enter more broadly into the Americas. “We aim to use Peru as our gateway to South America as it is a member of key regional trading blocs and it already has FTAs with the United States, Canada and Mexico,” according to Deputy Thai Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot. Thailand’s main imports from Peru consist primarily of tin and fish, while Peru imports mostly electrical appliances, auto parts and clothing from Thailand.
In Asia, Peru has already signed a trade deal with China and is negotiating pacts with Japan and South Korea.
