Editing Alejandro Toledo (section)

====United States====
President Toledo worked hard throughout his presidency on what became a very productive relationship with the U.S., and what Toledo described as a personal friendship with President Bush. He received lavish praise from the American president for his economic and domestic security policies. During a visit to Peru, Bush announced the establishment of an Andean Center of Excellence for Teacher Training, with a base in Peru, and a fellowship program to give Andean professionals access to education in information technology. In June 2002, the U.S. agreed to forgive $14&nbsp;million of Peru's debt in exchange for a promise to invest $12&nbsp;million in conservation projects. In September, Toledo secured a $300&nbsp;million commitment from Bush to fund alternative-crop development in coca-producing areas. In 2003, the Peace Corps returned to Peru.
Peru opposed U.S. efforts most visibly in the War in Iraq, refusing to support the intervention in any international arena.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

=====Peru – United States Trade Promotion Agreement=====
{{Main|United States – Peru Trade Promotion Agreement}}

The ''[[United States – Peru Trade Promotion Agreement]]'' ({{langx|es|link=no|Tratado de Libre Comercio Perú – Estados Unidos}}) is a bilateral [[free trade agreement]], whose objectives are eliminating obstacles to trade, consolidating access to goods and services and fostering private investment in and between the United States and [[Peru]]. Besides commercial issues, it incorporates economic, institutional, intellectual property, [[Labor relations|labor]] and [[environmental policy|environmental policies]], among others. The agreement was signed on 12 April 2006; ratified by the [[Congress of Peru|Peruvian Congress]] on 28 June 2006; by the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] on 2 November 2007, and by the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] on 4 December 2007. The agreement was implemented on 1 February 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-1573.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-1573.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Presidential Proclamation 8341—To Implement The United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement And for Other Purposes }}, published at 74 FR 4105, 22 January 2009</ref>

Peru looks to the agreement are to:
*Consolidate and extend the trade preferences under ATPDEA
*Attract foreign investment
*Generate employment
*Enhance the country's competitiveness within the region
*Increase workers' income
*Curb poverty levels
*Create and export sugar cane [[ethanol fuel|ethanol]]<ref>E85.whipnet.net, [http://e85.whipnet.net/news/sugar.cane.html Peruvian Desert to Host Ethanol Production Facility]. February 2007. Retrieved on 30 November 2007.</ref>

The United States looks to the agreement to:
*Improve access to goods and services
*Strengthen its investments
*Promote security and democracy
*Fight against drug trafficking

The U.S.-Peru agreement has faced criticism. In Peru, the treaty was championed by Toledo, and supported to different extents by former President [[Alan García]] and candidates [[Lourdes Flores]] and [[Valentín Paniagua]]. Current President [[Ollanta Humala]] has been its most vocal critic. Humala's [[Union for Peru]] won 45 of 120 seats in Congress in 2006, the largest share by a single party, prompting debate on ratification of the agreement before the new legislature was sworn in. Some Congressmen-elect interrupted the debate after forcibly entering Congress in an attempt to stop the agreement ratification.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5125852.stm "Peru Ratifies US Free Trade Deal"] 28 June 2006. ''BBC News''. Retrieved 29 June 2011.</ref>

One controversial element of the agreement relates to land resources. Laura Carlsen, of the Center for International Policy, who is also a contributor to Foreign Policy in Focus notes that "Indigenous organizations warn that this ruling effectively opens up 45&nbsp;million hectares to foreign investment and timber, oil, and mining exploitation."<ref>[Trade Agreement Kills Amazon Indians {{cite web|url=http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/6200 |title=Foreign Policy in Focus &#124; Trade Agreement Kills Amazon Indians |access-date=20 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090910085627/http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/6200 |archive-date=10 September 2009 }}]</ref>

However, most of the criticism of the agreement has focused on its potential impact on Peru's agricultural sector. By planting crops to similar to those subsidized by the U.S., Peru faced a competitive disadvantage in the production of agricultural products because poor farming families with inadequate tools, technology and techniques may not be able to produce crops at low enough prices to export. In response to these concerns, Peruvian lawmakers created a Compensation Fund which directed $34&nbsp;million per year to cotton, maize/corn, and wheat producers for a five-year period to help them adjust to the new competitive pressures.<ref>[http://www.lexis.com/research/retrieve?cc=&pushme=1&tmpFBSel=sel&totaldocs=&taggedDocs=Z3%3ACZ1%3A9Z4%3A1Z2%3A&toggleValue=&numDocsChked=5&prefFBSel=0&delformat=XCITE&fpDocs=&fpNodeId=&fpCiteReq=&expNewLead=id%3D%22expandedNewLead%22&brand=ldc&dedupeOption=0&T13=13&T14=14&T21=21&T24=24&T44=44&_m=b25310ca06c95e5101aed43f0564638e&docnum=13&_fmtstr=FULL&_startdoc=1&wchp=dGLzVtz-zSkAb&_md5=8b3fa70e011f0b65909af1841603d9c7&focBudTerms=&focBudSel=sel "Peruvian Congress Passes U.S. Free-Trade Pact"]{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Retrieved May 2011</ref>