Panama suggested this Friday to the United States to renegotiate the Trade Promotion Agreement (TPC), in force since 2012, considering that it affects its economy, despite the fact that Washington has already advanced its refusal.
“The Minister of Agricultural Development, Augusto Valderrama, announced that Panama’s position regarding the Trade Promotion Agreement (TPC) with the United States is to review and renegotiate it,” his office said in a statement.
The objective is that the policies derived from these treaties “do not affect Panamanian production and economy in the future,” the ministry note added.
However, last Thursday, the interim charge d’affaires of the US embassy in Panama, Stewart Tuttle, had already announced that his country will not renegotiate.
“The Treaty is underway, we do not intend to renegotiate the Treaty, it is not our idea, what we want to do is focus on the implementation of it,” said Tuttle.
“This Treaty benefits everyone, both the United States and Panama,” he added.
According to the statement, the Panamanian request was made to an official US delegation that recently visited the Latin American country.
The TPC was signed in 2007, although it did not come into effect until 2012.
Panama considers that in the current trade agreement there are several points that “directly affect” the future of various sensitive items of Panamanian production, such as rice, dairy products, pork and poultry, among others.
The government fears that Panamanian farmers and ranchers will be harmed by “excessive imports” from the United States.
“We want to make a call so that in this difficult moment that humanity and our country are experiencing, North American products do not affect these producers,” Valderrama said.
The president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, who resigned as Minister of Agricultural Development in 2006 due to discrepancies with the TPC negotiations, stated after assuming power in 2019 that he would review the free trade agreements with the United States and Central America.
Washington is an important partner of Panama. In 2021, the trade balance was in surplus for North Americans, with more than 2,800 million dollars, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Inec).
“These benefits are not compared to the very small concessions that Panamanian producers are requesting,” the National Association of Poultry Farmers of Panama said in a statement.
The Central American country only exported to the United States the equivalent of 130.4 million dollars in 2021.
The United States is also the largest user of the Panama Canal, with 75% of the total cargo in the last fiscal year.
Both countries share security programs in the fight against drug trafficking, organized crime, money laundering and illegal migration.
