Lima,

10 October 2016

Mr. James Andrew Himes,
United States Congress
Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Himes,

The Congressmen of the Republic of Peru who have signed this letter write to
express our satisfaction in having in you a person with important natural
connections to Peru. We understand that this closeness has led you to manifest a
concern for issues that are prioritized in our country and throughout Latin America.

We write to you, taking into account that the United States and eleven other
countries, including Peru, find themselves in a debate regarding the ratification of
the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is the largest such agreement of
economic cooperation and multilateral trade in the world and should allow us to
make advances in the protection of the environment, governance, equitable trade,
and investment in a way that also respects the rights of workers and local
populations.

In the case of Peru, the chapter on Environment of the TPP relates to the Amazon
Rainforest which is considered to be the lungs of the world and the global thermal
regulator. For this reason the TPP should encourage the promotion of its care and
the application of the highest standards of environmental protection and respect for
the rights of native populations living within it who are its primary caretakers.

Nonetheless, we find it contradictory when discretion is given to each party to set
their own levels of environmental protection within their respective countries
according to their own priorities, while at the same time not establishing laws and
regulations that impact trade, investment and above all the profits of foreign
investors. This is to say that there is a stated priority for trade and investment above
the protection of the environment, ecosystems and life itself. Furthermore, in case of
dispute about the rights of a foreign investor, the TPP establishes a system of
dispute settlement consisting of supranational tribunals such as the International
Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) where private arbiters have
the capacity to issue awards without taking into account the provisions of the
Constitution of the State in question, specific laws of that State, nor the public
interest of the recipient country.

In addition, the TPP does not clearly express anything with regard to the provisions
established in Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization that Peru
subscribes to and which establishes the rights to previous consultation for
indigenous and native populations; it is the right of indigenous peoples to be
consulted prior to any legislative or administrative measures that directly affect
their collective rights. Therefore, while Convention 169 is side-stepped, and while

the United States continues to receive shipments of timber from illegal logging
operations without the effective intervention of existing Free Trade Agreements to
protect and prioritize the collective rights of indigenous populations, the indigenous
peoples are left exposed to displacement and even to the occurrence of cases like
the Saweto community in which four Ashaninka natives who worked to protect the
forests where assassinated after uncovering an illegal logging operation.

We also express our frustration with the existing Free Trade Agreement between
the United States and Peru in relation to the extraordinary rights it provides to
foreign investors. Because of this existing agreement, an American transnational
company, The Renco Group, Inc., that owns a Metallurgical Complex in the Andean
town of La Oroya, Peru, despite acting irresponsibly in its financial, environmental
and social commitments, and enabling the city of La Oroya to be declared one of the
ten most polluted cities in the world where children are born with heavy amounts of
lead in their blood, has managed to sue the Peruvian government before ICSID,
seeking $800 million compensation claiming that Perus enforcement of said
responsibilities lowered its expected profits and thus violated its investor rights as
established in the FTA. We ask therefore, what is the advantage for a country like
Peru as an investment receiving country against a multinational company that is
generating negative environmental and social impacts through its operations?

Therefore, we believe that the ratification and enforcement of the TPP will:

Facilitate the free intervention of transnational companies according to their
priorities for economic gain and at the expense of environmental
vulnerability of the Amazon and other ecosystems, as well as threatening the
right to prior consultation of indigenous peoples by side-stepping
Convention 169 as well as the Constitution of Peru, which are the only legal
instruments available to protect indigenous and native populations by
empowering them to monitor, protect and manage their territories in
harmony with their natural surroundings.
By default, deny or fail to explicitly recognize the rights of indigenous
peoples to their lands and territories, their cultural identity and
participation, to decide their development priorities, to preserve their
customs and institutions, which constitute an integrated and indissoluble
unity for the environmental balance, equity, democracy and respect for their
autonomy and sovereignty. This was affirmed by the words of Special
Rapporteur Victoria Tauli of the United Nations when she declared, The TPP
will present serious threats to the rights of indigenous peoples.

Thus, we request your help through your position and your vote against the TPP in
order to:

Fully protect the rights of indigenous and native populations living in

territories where there are transnational corporations engaging in extractive
activities that impact the fragile ecosystems and life itself.
Pave the way for increased and responsible dialogue about the role of TPP
actors in the implementation of agreements and strategies that are socially
inclusive and environmentally sustainable in order to ensure the overall
welfare of people and the planet.

Lima, 10 October 2016

List of Congressmen of the Republic of Peru that signed the letter (and Region
represented)

Marco Antonio Arana Zegarra (Cajamarca)
Mara Elena Foronda Farro (Ancash)
Marisa Glave Remy (Lima)
Indira Isabel Huilca Flores (Lima)
Manuel Enrique Ernesto Dammert Ego Aguirre (Lima)
Rogelio Robert Tucto Castillo (Huanuco)
Tania Edith Pariona Tarqui (Ayacucho)
Alberto Eugenio Quintanilla Chacn (Puno)
Horacio Zeballos Patrn (Arequipa)
Oracio Pacori Mamani (Puno)
Edyson Humberto Morales Ramrez (Ayacucho)