Business Roundtable today praised the House Ways & Means Committee for its unanimous passage of the Peru trade promotion agreement (PTPA). By working together on trade policy, the committee demonstrated that it can come together on policies that help keep the U.S. economy moving forward.

"Exports have been one of the strongest areas of our economy, especially lately," said John J. Castellani, president of Business Roundtable. "Today’s unanimous vote to open the Peruvian market to U.S. goods and services sends the message to U.S. exporters that a bipartisan Congress is on their side."

Castellani called on Congress to complete its work on Peru with a full vote as soon as possible. "This is not only an economic boost for the U.S., it is also a foreign policy success for those of us that believe we need to stand with our friends in Latin America."

Currently, Peruvian exports to the U.S. currently face minimal hurdles, while U.S. exports to Peru encounter stiff barriers.

Passage of the pact will open a growing Latin American market to U.S. goods and provides an important building block to U.S. efforts to create a Western Hemisphere free trade.

Castellani applauded Committee Chairman Charles Rangel and Ranking Member Jim McCrery for their tireless efforts to get the Peru agreement through with no dissenting voices, and urged the continued bipartisan support in securing the passage of the remaining pending pacts with Colombia, Panama and Korea.