The Peruvian economy continues to out-perform its regional neighbors and most other global economies. In 2008, for the second straight year, Peru achieved economic growth rates exceeding 9%. This growth has helped fuel strong demand in Peru for U.S. products. In 2008, American exports to Peru increased by 50%, exceeding the 2007 growth rate of 41%. In just the past two years, annual U.S. exports have risen by over 100%, from $2.9 billion to $6.2 billion, making Peru the 35th largest market for .S. exports worldwide.
In addition to a robust macro-economic environment, sales of U.S. products in Peru are also being aided by improve market access condition. On February 1, 2009, the U.S. Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (commonly referred to as the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement, or FTA) entered into force. The agreement enhances the overall commercial and investment climate by, inter alia, eliminating tariffs on many goods, accelerating the customs clearance process for U.S. imports, and strengthening the protection on intellectual property rights.
Extractive industries, mining and petroleum, represent the largest customers for U.S. goods and services. These sectors have also attracted the majority of U.S. investment into Peru. In 2008, the mining industry accounted for 59% of Peru’s $31 billion in exports (and a similar volume of American exports to Peru). Although in 2009, the mining sector is expected to continue to feel the effects of the international financial crisis as commodities prices have dropped and demand slackened; resulting in a decline in Peruvian exports of minerals and impacting demand for products and services by mining operations.
Leading American exports to Peru include mining equipment, industrial and electrical machinery, refined petroleum products, plastics, computers and telecommunications equipment. In 2008, the United States imported $5.7 billion in goods from Peru, including minerals (copper, gold, silver, zinc, tin and lead), petroleum, apparel and increasing quantities of agricultural products. The United States is Peru’s leading source of imports. In 2008, 18% of all Peruvian imports originated in the United States; followed by China (14%); Brazil (8%); Ecuador (6%) and Argentina (5%). Major foreign investors in Peru include the United States (mining, oil & gas, telecommunications, consumer goods); United Kingdom (mining) Spain (oil & gas, telecommunications), Chile (retail), Mexico (telecommunications, mining) and increasingly China (mining).
Peru is known as the land of the Incas. It is well known for its tourism. Peru is South America's third largest country, covering 1,285,215 sq. km., and can be divided into three distinct geographic regions. The best known of these is the central high sierra of the Andes, with its massive peaks, steep canyons, and extraordinary pre Columbian archaeological sites. The Andes are still one of the world's most unstable mountain ranges, with frequent earthquakes, landslides, and flash floods. Despite such instability, the Andes are also the site of the most fascinating pre-Columbian cities of South America-like the great city of the clouds, Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres (8,000 ft) above sea level.[1] It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is one of the most familiar symbols of the Inca Empire.
The Incas started building it around AD 1430 but was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a hundred years later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Although known locally, it was largely unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction.
Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Since it was not plundered by the Spanish when they conquered the Incas, it is especially important as a cultural site and is considered a sacred place.
Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu. In September 2007, Peru and Yale University reached an agreement regarding the return of artifacts which Hiram Bingham had removed from Machu Picchu in the early twentieth century.
On July 7, 2007, Machu Picchu was voted as one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World. The World Monuments Fund placed Machu Picchu on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world because of environmental degradation resulting from the impact of tourism, uncontrolled development in the nearby town of Aguas Calientes that included a poorly sited tram to ease visitor access, and the construction of a bridge across the Vilcanota River that is likely to bring even more tourists to the site in defiance of a court order and government protests against it.
In addition to a robust macro-economic environment, sales of U.S. products in Peru are also being aided by improve market access condition. On February 1, 2009, the U.S. Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (commonly referred to as the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement, or FTA) entered into force. The agreement enhances the overall commercial and investment climate by, inter alia, eliminating tariffs on many goods, accelerating the customs clearance process for U.S. imports, and strengthening the protection on intellectual property rights.
Extractive industries, mining and petroleum, represent the largest customers for U.S. goods and services. These sectors have also attracted the majority of U.S. investment into Peru. In 2008, the mining industry accounted for 59% of Peru’s $31 billion in exports (and a similar volume of American exports to Peru). Although in 2009, the mining sector is expected to continue to feel the effects of the international financial crisis as commodities prices have dropped and demand slackened; resulting in a decline in Peruvian exports of minerals and impacting demand for products and services by mining operations.
Leading American exports to Peru include mining equipment, industrial and electrical machinery, refined petroleum products, plastics, computers and telecommunications equipment. In 2008, the United States imported $5.7 billion in goods from Peru, including minerals (copper, gold, silver, zinc, tin and lead), petroleum, apparel and increasing quantities of agricultural products. The United States is Peru’s leading source of imports. In 2008, 18% of all Peruvian imports originated in the United States; followed by China (14%); Brazil (8%); Ecuador (6%) and Argentina (5%). Major foreign investors in Peru include the United States (mining, oil & gas, telecommunications, consumer goods); United Kingdom (mining) Spain (oil & gas, telecommunications), Chile (retail), Mexico (telecommunications, mining) and increasingly China (mining).
Peru is known as the land of the Incas. It is well known for its tourism. Peru is South America's third largest country, covering 1,285,215 sq. km., and can be divided into three distinct geographic regions. The best known of these is the central high sierra of the Andes, with its massive peaks, steep canyons, and extraordinary pre Columbian archaeological sites. The Andes are still one of the world's most unstable mountain ranges, with frequent earthquakes, landslides, and flash floods. Despite such instability, the Andes are also the site of the most fascinating pre-Columbian cities of South America-like the great city of the clouds, Machu Picchu.
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres (8,000 ft) above sea level.[1] It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", Machu Picchu is one of the most familiar symbols of the Inca Empire.
The Incas started building it around AD 1430 but was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a hundred years later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Although known locally, it was largely unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction.
Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Since it was not plundered by the Spanish when they conquered the Incas, it is especially important as a cultural site and is considered a sacred place.
Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its primary buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the Sacred District of Machu Picchu. In September 2007, Peru and Yale University reached an agreement regarding the return of artifacts which Hiram Bingham had removed from Machu Picchu in the early twentieth century.
On July 7, 2007, Machu Picchu was voted as one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World. The World Monuments Fund placed Machu Picchu on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world because of environmental degradation resulting from the impact of tourism, uncontrolled development in the nearby town of Aguas Calientes that included a poorly sited tram to ease visitor access, and the construction of a bridge across the Vilcanota River that is likely to bring even more tourists to the site in defiance of a court order and government protests against it.
Peru is also well known for its food. Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the most diverse in the world and is on par with French, Chinese and Indian cuisine. In January 2004, The Economist stated that "Peru can lay claim to one of the world's dozen or so great cuisines", while at the Fourth International Summit of Gastronomy Madrid Fusión 2006, regarded as the world's most important gastronomic forum, held in Spain between January 17 and 19, Lima was declared the "Gastronomic Capital of the Americas".
