/Agencia Andina
The creation of Private Special Economic Zones (ZEEP) would attract investments to Peru and, with this, would generate more employment by promoting economic growth with a focus on internal development, as reported in an analysis published in the Suplemento Económika of the Diario El Peruano.
“ZEEPs have changed the history of cities, regions, and countries. China, for example, with the implementation of ZEEPs, has created approximately 40 million jobs and used these zones as a catapult to go from being the most isolated country in the world to being the leader of globalization,” stated the founding member and former vice president of the World Free Zones Organization (WFZO), Martín Ibarra.
The professional added that in Latin America, the case of the Dominican Republic stands out, whose ZEEP has generated 200,000 jobs for a population of 10 million inhabitants, meaning 2% of the population works directly in this type of economic zone. “Worldwide, 1% of jobs are developed in ZEEPs,” he noted.
“Under this premise, in Peru, with a population of 35 million inhabitants, ZEEPs could generate around 350,000 direct jobs and more than one million indirect jobs. This is the impact that ZEEPs have on the economy. These special economic zones have become a kind of internationalization laboratory and have leveled the playing field to attract investment and develop large projects,” Ibarra specified.
“ZEEPs will allow Peru to precisely level this development. If we analyze the per capita income from exports, Peru is 800 dollars below the world average, which is 3,000 dollars. Special economic zones can put 1,000 dollars in the pocket of every Peruvian if we know how to manage them well,” the specialist specified.
Ibarra commented that ZEEPs will allow Peru to enter the “club” of manufacturing, data centers, and sophisticated businesses. “But not only to place the country at the world trade average, but also to far exceed it. None of the regions of Peru reaches the world average of exports per capita.
The ZEEPs will drive what could be the country’s international revolution to visualize and analyze which of the new businesses that stand out in the world today can be developed in each region and thus improve their future,” he emphasized.
Trade Agreement
Another relevant aspect that places Peru in a position of great expectation regarding the development of its international trade is the existence of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States; however, it is not used to its full potential.
“There are only 20 countries in the world that have the privilege of having a trade agreement with the largest importer on the planet and, at this time, when there is an incessant trade war, Peru is in a position of great privilege because it also has a signed FTA with China, the other major player in world trade,” said Ibarra.
In this regard, the specialist stated that Peru, as a partner of China, could form a joint venture to use its rules of origin and, in this way, acquire Chinese raw materials to produce products in Peru, which would be exported to the United States exempt from the respective taxes, precisely within the framework of the FTA signed with the northern country.
“If we divide the total population of the 20 countries that have an FTA with the United States, we will get the magic figure of 2,500 per average inhabitant. Peru only records an average per capita income from exports to the United States of 281 dollars. This gives us an idea of the enormous potential the country has. If Peru could export the average of its partners that have an FTA with the United States, it would mean 84 billion additional dollars only in shipments to the northern country,” detailed Ibarra.
Trade War
Likewise, the specialist in free zone issues pointed out that the trade war prompted the United States to slow down its trade relations with China, dropping from 21% to 14%.
“The United States is half as important for China as it was eight years ago. The Asian giant has found other markets and this has been very beneficial for Latin America, which has become China’s first trading partner and has also allowed the region to increase its shipments to the United States by 200 billion dollars,” asserted Ibarra.
He commented that this situation represents an opportunity for, with Chinese technology and taking advantage of the FTA with the United States, many Peruvian-Chinese products to be developed in the special economic zones and then exported to various markets, especially the North American one.
Tariffs
The administration of President Donald Trump established a series of tariffs for all countries in the world, without exceptions. However, the United States defined specific scales for each region or country.
“In that sense, Latin American countries that have an FTA with the United States were only applied a reciprocal tariff of 11% on average, while for European countries this tariff is 16%, and for those in Asia it was set at 22%. This causes exporting companies from Asia and Europe that have the United States as their market to approach Latin America to develop their operations,” explained Ibarra.
