SALT LAKE CITY — As federal and state officials set out to shepherd international trade efforts from headache to the next new global economic hope, Utah is putting the high-peaked economy of Peru in its sights.
And Peru is looking back, according to a delegation of government officials and business leaders from there who began a two-day visit here Monday with a call on an afternoon meeting of the Utah International Relations and Trade Commission.
The visit, the meat of which is Tuesday, is part of a plan by Gov. Gary Herbert and area businesses with global aspirations to open the way to trade through diplomatic missions between Utah and a family of developing countries like Peru.
Peru has posted economic gains in recent months that have caught international attention. It has been barreling along for more than 12 straight months, Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Eagle Mountain and co-chairman of the trade commission, told commission members. "This all while a good portion of the world has been caught in the doldrums."
Peru's economy has expanded by 7.3 percent just in the first five months of 2010. The construction sector led the way, rising almost 21 percent, followed closely by manufacturing at 14.5 percent, according to the National Institute for Statistics and Information.
A spokesman for the delegation told the commission that, by most measures, economic activity in Peru is strong, and the nation looks to post an expansion of more than 9 percent in the second quarter of this year.
Madsen and other committee members said new trade agreements can be good for both Utah and the states in Peru. They acknowledged that, while opening international markets, they must make sure that working people, their families and communities in the service sector and agriculture are not overrun in the process.
Utah has a lot of experience already, but the impact of American business on the social structure is just one of the factors that must be recognized fully as the effort moves toward a new era, Rep. Sheryl Allen, R- Bountiful and commission co-chair, told the delegation.
e-mail: jthalman@desnews.com