Failure to Enforce Environmental Obligations of Peru FTA
Today the Environmental Investigation Agency released a briefing that highlights a significant deficit in implementation and enforcement within the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and its Annex on Forest Sector Governance.
Illegal logging in Peru and the associated trade remains a serious and unabated problem. In 2007, in response to the crisis of illegal logging in Peru, the United States and Peru agreed to include an Annex on Forest Sector Governance in the U.S.-Peru FTA that lays out a suite of binding obligations on both parties to improve forest governance. While the U.S.-Peru FTA included laudable and innovative new provisions to address environmental impacts in trade agreements, the complete failure to enforce these obligations fundamentally undermines the effectiveness of these measures.