Friday, July 30, 2004
Nikkei Aid to Peru: The Associated Press reports on remittances from Japan that Peruvians receive from re-located family members. The article begins with Elisa Rey as "one of thousands of foreigners who have migrated to Japan in the past decade and turned this country into an unexpected source of remittances. Payments sent home by foreign workers here now surpass Tokyo's foreign aid budget." NOTE: "Rey, the Peruvian electronics worker, said she and her two brothers sent their parents about 40% of their monthly salaries. These remittances financed a four-story home that the family finished this year in Chancay, just north of Lima." CITED: Armando Ouchida, executive director of Convenio Kyodai, "a cooperative that many of Japan's 52,000 Peruvians, the fifth-largest community of foreign workers here."
Free Trade?, cont.: Dow Jones and Xinhua Net offer different takes on the free trade talks between the USA and the Andean countries, upon the completion of the third round of talks which took place in Lima from July 26 to 30. Xinhua reports that "the Andean countries and the United States maintain their differences on the removal of agricultural tariffs for a free trade agreement," according to a spokesmen of the Andean nations. NOTE: "Peru, Colombia and Ecuador have reiterated that they will not remove the tariffs on agricultural products unless the United States stops subsidizing its farmers." ALSO: "Peru's chief negotiator Pablo de la Flor said, 'For the Andeanist, it is fundamental to have a scheme that could neutralize the subsidies applied by the United States, and the 'price band' is one of several mechanisms that could be resorted to'." Dow Jones offers a perspective closer to the USA negotiators and reports that the USA "has offered to drop tariffs for another 30% of the items from the Andean nations within five years, another 4.8% within 10 years, and the rest in a period of more than 10 years." NOTE: "Peru has also proposed placing sugar among the group of products that will receive immediate duty-free access, reports said." The fourth Round of negotiations will be held in Puerto Rico in September.
Las Bambas - Bidder Stays In: Reuters reports that "Noranda expressed confidence that a new royalty tax in Peru will not affect its Antamina copper and zinc mine, but it was less certain about the effect of a similar tax looming in neighboring Chile," according to chief executive Derek Pannell. NOTE: "As compensation for mining out its finite resources, Peru last month passed a bill to charge miners a sliding scale royalty of between 1 to 3% of sales on concentrates or their equivalent, depending on company sales."
Aid to Puno, Cuzco: World Vision announced in a press release that the have begun distributing blankets to rural communities in Cusco, including "one thousand blankets are being distributed to families from projects in Cusipata, Calca, and Lamay." NOTE: "The long-term solution includes a mitigation project for communities located in the area," said Jose Luis Ochoa."
Social Forum in Quito: InterPress Service reports on the first Social Forum of the Americas, which ended Friday in Quito. Said Marlene Román, a young activist with Peru's Pro Human Rights Association, "This is the first forum in the region and we hope that in future editions there will be greater participation by grassroots social movements, because I believe the Forum was a bit lopsided due to the heavy presence of non-governmental organisations." NOTE: "According to the organisers, 10,000 people from 45 countries attended ... 7,500 of whom registered as delegates of 814 organisations or as individuals." ALSO: "Román said Peru's trade unions were basically absent, and that there was a weak presence of Ecuador's social movements."
New Ticuna Church: California's Press Enterprise (registration: peruvia@peruvia.com peruvia) reports on a church built in Ticuna land by members of the Hemet Valley Baptist Church (see photograph). The church group of about 20 people travelled from Los Angeles to Bogotá, then to Leticia. "From there, they took a boat to San Antonio, a small village on the island of Cacao in Peru. Two days and thousands of miles later, they were on an island in the middle of the Amazon River." CITED: Jean and Irwin Bourne (Amazon Missions Association).
LHorna Victor: The Globe and Mail notes that Luis Horna defeated Fréderic Niemeyer (Canada)6-7 (7-5), 7-5, 6-3.
Free Trade?, cont.: Dow Jones and Xinhua Net offer different takes on the free trade talks between the USA and the Andean countries, upon the completion of the third round of talks which took place in Lima from July 26 to 30. Xinhua reports that "the Andean countries and the United States maintain their differences on the removal of agricultural tariffs for a free trade agreement," according to a spokesmen of the Andean nations. NOTE: "Peru, Colombia and Ecuador have reiterated that they will not remove the tariffs on agricultural products unless the United States stops subsidizing its farmers." ALSO: "Peru's chief negotiator Pablo de la Flor said, 'For the Andeanist, it is fundamental to have a scheme that could neutralize the subsidies applied by the United States, and the 'price band' is one of several mechanisms that could be resorted to'." Dow Jones offers a perspective closer to the USA negotiators and reports that the USA "has offered to drop tariffs for another 30% of the items from the Andean nations within five years, another 4.8% within 10 years, and the rest in a period of more than 10 years." NOTE: "Peru has also proposed placing sugar among the group of products that will receive immediate duty-free access, reports said." The fourth Round of negotiations will be held in Puerto Rico in September.
Las Bambas - Bidder Stays In: Reuters reports that "Noranda expressed confidence that a new royalty tax in Peru will not affect its Antamina copper and zinc mine, but it was less certain about the effect of a similar tax looming in neighboring Chile," according to chief executive Derek Pannell. NOTE: "As compensation for mining out its finite resources, Peru last month passed a bill to charge miners a sliding scale royalty of between 1 to 3% of sales on concentrates or their equivalent, depending on company sales."
Aid to Puno, Cuzco: World Vision announced in a press release that the have begun distributing blankets to rural communities in Cusco, including "one thousand blankets are being distributed to families from projects in Cusipata, Calca, and Lamay." NOTE: "The long-term solution includes a mitigation project for communities located in the area," said Jose Luis Ochoa."
Social Forum in Quito: InterPress Service reports on the first Social Forum of the Americas, which ended Friday in Quito. Said Marlene Román, a young activist with Peru's Pro Human Rights Association, "This is the first forum in the region and we hope that in future editions there will be greater participation by grassroots social movements, because I believe the Forum was a bit lopsided due to the heavy presence of non-governmental organisations." NOTE: "According to the organisers, 10,000 people from 45 countries attended ... 7,500 of whom registered as delegates of 814 organisations or as individuals." ALSO: "Román said Peru's trade unions were basically absent, and that there was a weak presence of Ecuador's social movements."
New Ticuna Church: California's Press Enterprise (registration: peruvia@peruvia.com peruvia) reports on a church built in Ticuna land by members of the Hemet Valley Baptist Church (see photograph). The church group of about 20 people travelled from Los Angeles to Bogotá, then to Leticia. "From there, they took a boat to San Antonio, a small village on the island of Cacao in Peru. Two days and thousands of miles later, they were on an island in the middle of the Amazon River." CITED: Jean and Irwin Bourne (Amazon Missions Association).
LHorna Victor: The Globe and Mail notes that Luis Horna defeated Fréderic Niemeyer (Canada)6-7 (7-5), 7-5, 6-3.
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