EL SALVADOR · TRADE
Published Sunday, 8 November, 3:05 p.m. ET · Source: statements by Salvadoran business associations; El Salvador Ministry of Economy
Salvadoran business groups say a free-trade agreement with Peru would open a new door for exports, raw materials and investment. Their comments, published on Friday 6 November, follow a visit to San Salvador by Peru’s president, Keiko Fujimori.
Fujimori met President Nayib Bukele on Thursday 29 October and said she wants to move toward a trade deal. El Salvador already trades with the United States under CAFTA-DR, the free-trade pact linking the US with Central America and the Dominican Republic.
Key Facts
- What Four Salvadoran business groups say a trade deal with Peru would widen exports and inputs.
- Context Peru’s president, Keiko Fujimori, met El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, on 29 October.
- Status A deal is under negotiation, but no signing date has been announced.
- Who Camarasal (chamber of commerce), Coexport (exporters), Inquifar (drugmakers) and the sugar producers’ association, Asociación Azucarera.
What the Business Groups Said
Leticia Escobar, president of Camarasal, El Salvador’s business chamber with more than 2,300 members, called the Peruvian visit positive and said El Salvador is “in fashion”. She said she met Lima’s chamber of commerce and an exporters’ association in Peru last month.
Silvia Cuéllar, president of Coexport, the country’s exporters’ corporation, said a Peru deal would join the agreements with Colombia and Ecuador, the latter a partial-scope accord. She named plastics, food, metalworking and chemicals as sectors that could gain.
Cuéllar added that exporters also need South American inputs, because they import materials in order to export finished goods. Coexport has signed two agreements with Peruvian counterparts, one with a business association and one with a franchise chamber.
Carmen Estela Pérez, president of Inquifar, the association of chemical and pharmaceutical makers, said the industry does not yet export medicines to Peru. She said a deal could open the way both to buying raw materials and to selling finished products.
Mario Salaverría, president of the sugar producers’ association, said sugar already goes to Peru and is part of the negotiation. He said both countries now enjoy political and economic stability, and that the private sector takes part in the talks.
Where the Talks Stand
Salaverría said the two countries are negotiating a free-trade treaty, and reports on the groups’ comments say chapters of the agreement are advancing. During her visit Fujimori said she wants to move toward signing a deal, but she gave no timetable.
The Salvadoran Ministry of Economy’s trade page lists 13 agreements in force, among them CAFTA-DR with the United States and free-trade agreements with Colombia and Chile. Peru is not on that list.
What It Means for You
For readers in the United States, nothing in these comments suggests any change to CAFTA-DR, which stays El Salvador’s main trade pact with the US. In our reading, a Peru agreement would add a South American market for Salvadoran sellers.
It could also widen the supply of inputs for factories that make goods sold abroad. Any effect would be some way off, because the deal is still under negotiation.
What Is Not Known
No signing date or list of tariff cuts has been published. We found no confirmed official figure for trade between the two countries.
We also do not know which sectors the final text would protect. We found no announced date for the next negotiating round.
More: Fujimori’s visit to Bukele; El Salvador’s trade gap in September; Foreign powers and investors in El Salvador; El Salvador news in English.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does El Salvador have a free-trade deal with Peru?
Not yet. The two countries are negotiating one, and Peru is not on the Salvadoran Ministry of Economy’s list of agreements in force.
Which Salvadoran sectors want the deal?
Exporters of plastics, food, metal products and chemicals, sugar producers and drugmakers all said they see gains. They also want easier access to South American inputs.
Does the Peru talk affect El Salvador’s trade with the US?
Nothing the business groups said points to a change. El Salvador’s agreement with the United States, CAFTA-DR, remains in force.
Sources: Statements by Camarasal, Coexport, Inquifar and the Asociación Azucarera de El Salvador, 6 November 2026; El Salvador Ministry of Economy, trade agreements page (economia.gob.sv), read 8 November 2026; reports on the visit of Peru’s president to El Salvador on 28 and 29 October 2026.
In depth
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. How we use AI · Report an error