Central American country, Panama joined, this Friday (6), the Mercosur free trade bloc as an associate member. The president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, signed three agreements during the 65th Summit of Mercosur Heads of State, in Montevideo, Uruguay.
An economic complementation agreement and two documents of democratic commitments were signed. Initially made up of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, this is the first summit with the participation of Bolivia as a state party, which joined the bloc in July this year.
The economic complementation agreement with Panama was created with the coordination of Brazil. At the last summit, in Paraguay, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and José Mulino, president of Panama, discussed the Central American country’s entry into the bloc.
“I welcome President José Raúl Mulino, from Panama, which becomes the first associated state of Mercosur in Central America,” said Lula, during the bloc’s summit this Friday.
He added that “today we also lay the foundations for future trade liberalization with Panama, through which 6% of world trade passes.”
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, when speaking at the summit, emphasized that his intention is to strengthen ties with Mercosur. “Panama is an opportunity for its exports. This bloc is a global giant in agricultural and industrial products. We have experience in logistics and in increasing the competitiveness of global trade. We are complementary and we must strengthen each other”, he highlighted.
Export volume
From January to June 2024, Brazilian exports to Panama totaled US$440.9 million, while Brazilian imports of Panamanian products totaled US$7.8 million. The bilateral balance recorded a surplus for Brazil of US$433.1 million.
The Southern Common Market (Mercosur) is a regional integration process made up of party states, which have the right to vote, and the so-called associated states, which participate in the bloc’s activities and meetings and have trade preferences with the party states. The states associated with Mercosur are currently Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and, now, Panama.
Also at this summit, in Montevideo, the heads of state of Mercosur and the representative of the European Union (EU), Ursula von der Leyen, announced, this Friday (6), that a free trade agreement was signed to reduce tariffs of exports between the countries that make up these markets. Negotiations had been going on for 25 years.
*Article changed at 12:32 pm to add information.
