US-Peru trade pact in effect with 1st shipment

LIMA, Peru - Peru has sent its first shipment of textiles and other goods to the U.S. under a newly enacted free-trade pact.

The pact eliminates duties on 80 percent of U.S. consumer and industrial products exported to Peru. And it makes Peru's duty-free status with the U.S. permanent in exchange for its cooperation in the U.S.-led drug war.

The pact went into effect on Sunday. The first U.S. shipment, of California apples, arrived in Peru on Monday, while Peru sent out its shipment on Tuesday.

Peru's foreign trade minister said Tuesday that the South American country exported a record $31.2 billion in goods last year, 18.4 percent of which were purchased in the U.S.

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