Today in Lima, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews delivered keynote remarks to the American Chamber of Commerce in Peru. Speaking before a crowd of more than 120 attendees which included Minister of Trade and Tourism Magali Silva, Vice Minister of Trade Edgar Vasquez, and Vice Minister of Health Pedro Grillo, he highlighted how the U.S. business community can provide world-class products and services to help meet Peru’s healthcare needs.

Deputy Secretary Andrews is in Peru this week leading a delegation of 19 American companies on a healthcare trade and investment mission.

Remarks As Prepared For Delivery

Thank you Ambassador Nichols for the kind introduction.

This is my first visit to Peru, and I’m already blown away by this beautiful country. We had the opportunity yesterday to see some of Lima. After trying some of this city’s famous ceviche and pisco sour, it’s clear to me why Peru is so special.

I am so pleased to be here today. No matter where I travel, I always love to meet with the local AmCham and its members. Each one of you serves as an invaluable source of knowledge, insight, and guidance. We are grateful for all that you do to strengthen our country’s economic ties with Peru.

I am joined here today by representatives from 19 leading U.S. healthcare companies – all of whom are looking for looking for new business opportunities in Peru’s expanding healthcare market. These companies represent a broad range of healthcare sector industries – including pharmaceutical producers, medical device manufacturers, hospital operation and management service, hospital information systems, and eHealth solutions. I’d like to ask the members of the delegation to please stand up.

A UN study released last year found that Peru has the fastest-growing middle class of any country in Latin America. This growth – coupled with an increase in disposable income and an aging population – means that Peruvians are spending more money on healthcare than ever before.To keep up with increased demand, President Humala has promised to spend an additional $2.6 billion to significantly upgrade and equip hospitals and healthcare centers, as well as build new facilities.

The Peruvian government recognizes that more of its citizens need access to high quality healthcare. They have plans to execute new health centers and modernize existing facilities, while equipping them with the latest medical technology and making the most effective pharmaceuticals and highly trained staff available to more people.

In the United States, we want Peru to succeed. A prosperous, healthy Peru is in the best interests of not just Peruvians, but people in the United States and across the Americas as well. That is why the U.S.  government is committed to supporting Peru’s goal to improve the quality of healthcare as well as increase access to life-saving medicines and facilities staffed with the best personnel possible.

Our industry-leading U.S. companies are committed to this effort as well.  They are ready and willing to share their best practices learned by doing business around the world to improve and streamline Peru’s licensing and regulatory approval processes for medical devices.

This brings me to the reason for this trade mission: U.S. healthcare companies offer the world’s most innovative products and services, and they can be a valuable partner in helping Peru to expand its healthcare sector. I am confident that the lessons our companies learned about using technology to increase access to quality healthcare will make our companies highly effective partners here in Peru.

The companies joining me this week have a proven track record of deploying innovative technologies both here in Latin America and all over the globe. In many ways, they are among the very best of U.S. industry. For example, tomorrow, we’re going to the National Cancer Institute to witness the unveiling of a new GE Healthcare Revolution CT scanner that quickly and quietly captures images of large swaths of the body while emitting a significantly lower radiation dose.

Our goal this week is to connect our U.S. businesses with opportunities in Peru’s growing healthcare market – while introducing Peruvian policymakers and business leaders to the world-class services offered by U.S. companies. Our presence here today underscores the United States’ deep commitment to the U.S.-Peru relationship. Our nations have a close and cooperative partnership based on mutual values and strong economic ties.

The cornerstone of our bilateral relationship is the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement – which entered into force seven years ago last month. This agreement has brought significant benefits to both of our peoples and our economies. Two-way trade has grown from $9.1 billion in 2009 to an estimated $13.7 billion in 2015, driving growth and employment in both countries.

With the recent completion of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we expect to see new opportunities for economic growth in the coming years. Five countries in the Americas – the United States, Peru, Canada, Mexico, and Chile – are members of TPP. While each country has individually signed a number of free trade agreements in the past, none have been as large or as comprehensive as TPP. This agreement will link together countries that represent nearly 40 percent of global GDP.

As a 21^st century high standard trade agreement, TPP will strengthen pro-growth policies that build on the trade and investment liberalization already undertaken by Peru and the Pacific Alliance, which will ultimately benefit the growing Americas region. The Western Hemisphere’s market of nearly a billion people is an energetic hub of trade and investment. Latin America and the Caribbean represent a $6 trillion market. We must continue to promote integration in the Americas to improve our collective ability to compete globally.

TPP will strengthen existing supply chains and build new ones throughout the Americas and Asia. It will help drive economic reforms in the region to liberalize trade and attract investment, while supporting economic development and poverty reduction in all TPP countries. It also includes critical intellectual property rights protections, which play a key role in driving innovation. Peru will gain new market access to Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia, Brunei, and New Zealand. Collectively, these five countries represent $4 billion worth of imports from the agribusiness, textiles, and fishing sectors. Yet Peru only exported $36 million in these sectors in 2014.

As representatives of U.S. and Peruvian businesses operating in Peru, your companies have much to gain from TPP. Both the United States and Peruvian governments are hard at work demonstrating the benefits of this agreement – but if we’re going to be successful in our efforts, we need your help. The best argument in favor of trade comes from all of you – leaders from the private sector, who see the real value of trade and exports firsthand. We need you to join us in getting the word out that TPP means more jobs and greater economic security for Peru.

On a broader level, the Trans-Pacific Partnership will solidify the position of the Americas in the Asia-Pacific region – one of the most dynamic regions in the world. In the United States, we have long embraced a vision of expanding economic growth, job creation, and innovation throughout the Western Hemisphere by advocating for more open trade. I’m encouraged by what this region’s involvement in TPP says about the future of our hemisphere. If all of the people of the Americas are going to have the opportunity to thrive and prosper, we must ensure that all are able to reap the benefits of the global economy.

Across Latin America – from Guadalajara to São Polo to here in Lima – we have seen tens of millions of people lifted from extreme poverty. We have seen that pro-market policies can improve the quality of life for people while bringing new innovations, new companies, and new supply chains to communities once left out of the global trading system.

Today, a new middle class is demanding more of themselves and more of their governments.  This new accountability is driving a pro-investment democratic vision for the future – one that will prove an example to the rest of the world of what is possible when businesses and governments work together to meet the needs of their citizens. Of course, we still face challenges. We must overcome those who wish to turn back the clock, return to failed policies of the past, and undo much of what has been accomplished.  But, if you compare the Americas of today with the Americas of the past, there are plenty of reasons for optimism.

Together, across borders, we are improving living standards, reducing inequality, and providing all citizens with the tools they need to succeed and thrive in the 21st century. By working together to tackle the shared challenges of economic growth, we are setting ourselves up to be the most competitive region in the world. As this year’s APEC chair, Peru has a particularly important role to play in these efforts.

The bottom line is this: the economic opportunity among the nations of the Western Hemisphere is vast, urgent, and within reach. President Obama has made it clear that the future of the United States is inextricably bound to the future of the people of the Americas, and we are committed to shaping that future through continued engagement and partnerships like this week’s trade mission.

This brings me to today’s lunch, which is an opportunity for AmCham members to get to know the companies in our delegation and our Embassy’s commercial service staff here on the ground in Lima. AmCham members know this region and its business climate better than anyone else. Your perspective is invaluable to us as we shape our Department’s priorities and explore new market opportunities in Peru. I encourage you to use this time to share your firsthand experience about how this market works and how U.S. companies can find success. And if you haven’t already met our outstanding foreign commercial staff – led by Ricardo Pelaez – please introduce yourself. Can our team please stand up?

Our decision to bring this trade mission to Peru reflects a simple fact: the U.S. business community can provide world-class products and services to help meet Peru’s healthcare needs. By increasing trade between our nations in this sector, we can build stronger economic ties between the United States and Peru.

By laying the groundwork now for our companies to take advantage of new opportunities created by the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we can create new jobs and increase prosperity for people in both of our countries. And by making U.S. companies a centerpiece of our relationships in the Americas, we can generate even more forward momentum in the Western Hemisphere and shape a brighter future for the people of our region. Thank you.

In Lima, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews Discusses How U.S. Companies Can Help Grow Peru’s Healthcare Sector

Department of Commerce        March 7, 2016