U.S.-Panama Free-Trade Agreement Delayed
Trade negotiators had been hoping to have the free-trade pact between the United States and Panama up and running by Oct. 1.
But Panama hasn’t approved all the legislation needed to put the trade accord into operation.
Panama’s National Assembly has yet to modify four laws that cover copyright protection, intellectual property, government procurement and international conventions.
Panama’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ricardo Quijano, said there was no way the agreement would be in place by Oct. 1 because the National Assembly is still debating electoral reforms for 2014, which has become a heated topic.
Over 87 percent of U.S. exports of consumer and industrial products to Panama will become duty-free immediately. Currently, the average tariff on goods going into Panama is 7 percent.
U.S. exports of apparel and textiles to Panama have risen rapidly. In 2011, the United States exported $63.4 million in apparel and textiles to the Central American nation, compared with $37.5 million in 2008.
Top U.S. textile and apparel exports to Panama include fabric; men’s and boys’ suits, trousers and shorts; women’s and girls’ slacks, shorts, pants and dresses; accessories; infant wear; undergarments; floor coverings; curtains and drapes; and bedroom furnishings.
Tariffs on U.S. apparel and textile products into Panama average 6.7 percent but will be mostly duty-free for goods made from regional yarns.
The United States imported $1.83 billion in apparel and textiles from Panama in 2011, but much of that entered duty-free because of Panama’s membership in the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, which expires in 2020.—Deborah Belgum
