Peruvian agricultural products are enjoying increasing popularity thanks to the trade agreement between China and Peru, especially Peruvian blueberries that have sprung up on Chinese people's dining tables with the arrival of November, the harvesting season of the fruit.
Official data from Peru show that over the 14 years since the free trade agreement came into effect in 2010, Peru's agricultural product exports to China increased 18 times.
After some 50 days of shipping, a batch of 7,800 boxes of Peruvian blueberries have recently arrived in Shanghai.
After boxing at local factories, these fruits will be distributed across China.
At a local supermarket in Shanghai, consumers and sellers have expressed their unabashed love for these fruits.
"We buy it about once every two or three days. The kids and the elderly at home all like to eat it," said a customer at the market.
"My wife and I each eat at least one box of blueberries every day," said another shopper.
"We sell different types of blueberries in different times. November is a very good season for Peruvian blueberries, and our sales are pretty good. We can sell over 20,000 boxes every day," said Zhang Lingli, fruit purchasing director of RT-Mart.
Luis Miguel Baanante Cerdena, a Peruvian fruit exporter, was dispatched from his company Camposol, the largest importer and exporter of fruits and vegetables in Peru, to Shanghai in 2017 to expand its presence in the Chinese market. Now his company exports thousands of tons of fruits every year to China.
"Blueberry is one category. It's the biggest category, but there are also important fruits like avocados and grapes, and we also do mangoes from Peru," said Luis Miguel Baanante Cerdena, general manager of Camposol.
Peruvian blueberries enjoy surging popularity on Chinese dining tables
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to increase tariffs on cars and trucks imported from the European Union (EU) to 25 percent next week.
Trump said on Truth Social that he is "pleased" to announce that, based on the fact the EU is not complying with U.S.-EU trade deal, next week he will be "increasing tariffs charged to the European Union for cars and trucks coming into the United States," adding the tariff will be increased to 25 percent.
"It is fully understood and agreed that, if they produce cars and trucks in U.S.A. plants, there will be NO TARIFF," he stressed.
Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's (EP) Committee on International Trade, on the same day strongly condemned the U.S. plan to slap the auto tariff, declaring the move "unacceptable" in a post on X.
Lange said the EU and the EP are honoring the trade agreement reached with the United States in Scotland last year, and are working on legislation to implement it.
"We are currently drafting the legislation; we have a parliamentary position and aim to finalize this in June," Lange said.
Lange said the United States has repeatedly breached the agreement, including imposing tariffs on more than 400 products containing steel and aluminium. Those products are now subject to an average tariff of 26 percent, he said.
He noted that Trump's latest move demonstrates just how "unreliable" the U.S. side is.
A European Commission spokesperson said Friday that the EU will "keep options open" to protect its interests if the United States takes measures inconsistent with the joint statement between the two sides signed last year on reciprocal, fair and balanced trade.
The EU remains fully committed to a predictable, mutually beneficial transatlantic relationship, the spokesperson said, adding that should the United States take measures inconsistent with the Joint Statement, "we will keep our options open to protect EU interests."
The EU is implementing its Joint Statement commitments in line with standard legislative practice, keeping the U.S. administration fully informed throughout, the spokesperson said, adding that the EU maintains close contact with its U.S. counterparts while also seeking clarity on U.S. commitments under the deal.
The U.S.-EU trade deal was reached last year, under which the EU would suspend tariffs on all U.S. industrial products and introduce tariff-rate quotas for a wide range of U.S. agri-food products entering the EU market. In return, the United States would apply a 15-percent import tariff on most EU goods.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that the Trump administration's tariff policies under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unconstitutional. But the Trump administration has since introduced a new set of import taxes based on other laws, seeking to impose a new tariff regime.
According to EU statistical agency Eurostat, the value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services reached 1.7 trillion euros (about 2 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2024, equivalent to roughly 4.6 billion euros per day.
Trump threatens to raise tariffs on auto imports from EU to 25 pct
