EIA Issues Statement on Visit by Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to Peru

Washington, D.C.—Today, officials of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and United States Department of State will visit Lima, Peru to discuss environmental rollbacks included in Law 30230, a law recently passed in Peru to promote private investment.

The law is a violation of Peru’s obligations under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between the United States and Peru in 2006, that stipulates “[t]he Parties recognize that it is inappropriate to encourage trade or investment by weakening or reducing the protections afforded in their respective environmental laws. Accordingly, a Party shall not waive or otherwise derogate from, or offer to waive or otherwise derogate from, such laws in a manner that weakens or reduces the protections afforded in those laws in a manner affecting trade or investment between the Parties."

EIA expects the United States to revisit trade relationships between the two countries, given Peru’s violation of the FTA.

“This visit is just the first step,” said Julia Urrunaga, Peru Program Director for EIA. “The U.S. Trade Representative should take this law seriously and consider decisive next steps to ensure Peru meet its obligations under the FTA.”

Law 30230 strips power from the Ministry of Environment to establish nature reserves protected from oil and gas exploration, cuts in half the fines that can be placed on companies violating environmental laws and protocols, and caps the number of days required for the evaluation of the Environmental Impact Assessment plans on projects such as mining, and oil and gas extraction.

More than 100 international organizations have come out against the law, as have leading environmental organizations in Peru. Indigenous leaders in the Amazon and Peru’s largest Indigenous organization, AIDESEP, have also taken a stand against the law citing the harm it will cause to the environment, particularly in Indigenous territories.

U.S. officials will be meeting with members of civil society and Peruvian Government officials to discuss the changes to environmental protections included in the new law.

Contact:
Maggie Dewane, Press Officer, EIA, 202-483-6621, mdewane@eia-global.org