New tariff hits nearly 50 pct of Peru's exports to U.S.

LIMA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Nearly half of Peru's exports to the United States will be hit with a new 12.5 percent tariff imposed by Washington, the Peruvian Exporters Association (Adex) warned on Thursday.

Some 49.7 percent of Peru's shipments to the U.S. market, about 5.336 billion U.S. dollars, are subject to the additional tariff, which follows a U.S. investigation into imported goods allegedly made using forced labor, the non-profit organization said in a statement.

According to Adex's Center for Research on Global Economics and Business, the new tariff applies to 2,772 categories of Peruvian exports to the U.S. market, including blueberries, grapes, asparagus, mandarins and apparel.

Additionally, a range of products worth approximately 499.2 million U.S. dollars, about 4.7 percent of total exports to the U.S., are at risk of paying extra duties because they fall under Section 232 of U.S. trade law, including refined copper plates.

On July 24, the United States announced a new levy of 10 to 12.5 percent on imported goods from 60 economies it accused of failing to crack down on forced labor, a move rejected by many trading partners as being based on totally unfounded grounds. ■