• 2006.12.09: December 9, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Peru: Politics: Financial Times: US to extend low tariff regime for Andean nations  Friday, December 08, 2006 - 11:25 pm [1]

• 2006.10.10: October 10, 2006: Headlines: COS - Peru: Free Trade: Politics: Yahoo News: Bush promises Peru's Garcia to push for trade pact  Tuesday, October 10, 2006 - 5:14 pm [1]

• 2006.08.15: August 15, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Peru: Politics: Reuters: Toledo defends labor record as US vote nears  Tuesday, August 22, 2006 - 8:03 am [1]

• 2006.07.24: July 24, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Peru: Politics: Congress: Free Trade: Heritage: Six Reasons to Support a U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement  Tuesday, July 25, 2006 - 6:00 pm [1]

• 2006.07.22: July 22, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Peru: Politics: Miami Herald: US-Peru Trade Pact Approval unlikely before fall  Monday, July 24, 2006 - 10:47 am [1]

• 2006.07.16: July 16, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Peru: Politics: Free Trade: Congress: Arizona Daily Star: Alejandro Toledo says if President Bush fails to get congressional approval of a recently signed U.S.-Peruvian free-trade agreement before Congress goes on its summer recess, it will be a case study proving that the United States does not reward its friends  Wednesday, July 19, 2006 - 3:02 pm [2]

• 2006.06.21: June 21, 2006: Headlines: Figures: COS - Peru: Politics: Bloomberg: President Toledo's Approval Rises to 4-Year High  Monday, July 03, 2006 - 11:38 pm [1]

Toledo meets Bush, urges US Senate pass trade pact



Toledo has been lobbying both Democratic and Republican legislators since Monday and said the deal would be ratified before July 28, when his term ends and a US congressional recess begins. President Alejandro Toledo of Peru was a language instructor for the Peace Corps in the 1960's. In 2002, Toledo invited the Peace Corps to return to Peru after a 27 year absence.

Toledo meets Bush, urges US Senate pass trade pact

Toledo meets Bush, urges US Senate pass trade pact

Tue Jul 11, 2:52 PM ET

Caption: President Bush shakes hands with the President of Peru Alejandro Toledo, left, Tuesday, July 11, 2006, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Outgoing Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo said goodbye to US President George W. Bush at the White House and urged the US Senate to ratify a bilateral trade pact.

Toledo has been lobbying both Democratic and Republican legislators since Monday and said the deal would be ratified before July 28, when his term ends and a US congressional recess begins.

"We are going to put the pedal to the floor," in lobbying for the pact, Toledo told reporters after meeting Bush.

He asked that the pact not suffer from partisanship.

"We cannot let ourselves be sandwiched between Democratic and Republican battles," he said.

He claimed backing from Senators Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Carl Levin of Michigan.

The US Senate must approve the pact, which has already been ratified by Peru's Congress.

If the Senate does not act before the July 28 recess, it will wait until after November legislative elections.

Most Peruvian goods enter the United States tariff-free under the Andean Trade Preference Act, granted in return for anti-drug cooperation. It expires in December, but could be renewed if the trade pact is not ratified.

By then, Toledo will have handed off to president-elect Alan Garcia, who has said he would reopen trade talks in search of a better deal.

When this story was posted in July 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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