Peru farmers rally against US deal

LIMA - Thousands of farmers blocked motorways and clashed with police to protest against a United States trade deal that they say will ruin them financially.

Police used tear gas to disperse rice growers who blocked roads and burned tyres near Peru's border with Ecuador, while road blocks by farmers in southern Peru caused hundreds of buses and trucks to back up along the main regional routes.

Hundreds of people also protested in the entres of Lima and Arequipa.

"This accord has been negotiated behind the backs of the Peruvian people," Antolin Huascar, head of Peru's national farming association CNA, said.

The Government says the deal will create 80,000 jobs from 2007 and boost exports to the US to US$9 billion ($14.95 billion) in 2010 from around US$6 billion today. Farmers counter the accord will cause 1.5 million job losses.

- REUTERS