Trade and nutrition: Consequences of free trade agreements in Peru, Chile, and Mexico

Increasing numbers of Latin American countries are entering into bilateral or regional free-trade agreements with the US. The potential negative effects of these agreements in the areas of agriculture and food security have led to concerns about their impact on obesity and nutritional health outcomes.

The recent Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) will upon implementation allow for 80% of US consumer and industrial products and 23% of US agricultural products to be imported duty-free into Peru (previous tariffs were 25%), including processed foods.

Like many developing countries, Peru is on the cusp of the “nutritional transition.” Currently, the majority of food consumed in the country is locally produced and unprocessed. However, highly processed, calorie-rich but nutrient-poor foods are rapidly becoming more available. It is expected that the PTPA will encourage the increased consumption of these types of foods by making them less expensive and more available.

This presentation uses case studies from Peru and other Latin American countries including Mexico, which implemented free trade with the US through NAFTA in 1994, and Chile, which passed an agreement in 2003, to analyze potential health impacts of the PTPA. Drawing from the current Peru DHS survey, from Chilean and Mexican national nutritional status data, we will examine issues of increased consumption of processed foods, meats, and corn-based products, and discuss the potential consequences of the PTPA in Peru, particularly on trends towards increasing obesity. The implications of these harms must be considered by the US in the development of responsible trade policy.