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Peru Swears In New Trade Minister as Tensions Over Long-Stalled Brazil Pact Rise

The appointment is meant to calm Congress by launching a technical review of the decade-old Peru–Brazil trade agreement.

Overview

  • Berthin Enrique Gómez Vela was sworn in as minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism on Tuesday to replace José Fernando Reyes Llanos.
  • Reyes submitted an irrevocable resignation on June 3 hours before a scheduled congressional interpellation in which lawmakers sought answers about delays in implementing the Peru–Brazil Economic Deepening Trade Agreement.
  • The 2016 pact was approved by Brazil’s Senate in 2017 but has not entered into force in Peru, a long-running bottleneck for exporters and investors.
  • Gómez Vela brings public-sector legal and management experience from posts at Devida, Fondepes and Provías Descentralizado and will be asked to provide a technical route for the stalled treaty.
  • The government says the change seeks to defuse parliamentary pressure and define next steps, but Congress and business groups will press for a clear timeline on ratification and safeguards for transparency and local industries.