FTA between Panama and Mexico will boost bilateral trade

The Free Trade Agreement FTA Panama and Mexico, which came into force last July, will boost bilateral trade and investment, and promote regional integration, officials from both countries said.

FTA between Panama and Mexico – Data Gogetit

* Panama is the most dynamic economy in the region over the past decade (average annual growth of 9.1% of GDP).

* Panama is the second largest Latin American investor in Mexico

* The Mexican market is “36 times larger than the Panamanian”

Panamanian government officials and representatives of the Secretariat of Economy of Mexico discussed the agreement at a conference held by the Panama Commerce, Agriculture, Industry and Agriculture Association or CCIAP last month.

Participants discussed the FTA between Panama and Mexico and said they provided a “window of opportunity” for traders, industrialists and exporters in Panama and Mexico.

Moreover, the Office of International Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Panama (MICI), through the National Administration of International Trade Treaties and Trade Protection indicated that the Mexican market is “36 times larger than Panama”

Intellectual property, rules of origin, dispute settlement, access to markets, health regulations, e-commerce, financial services, rules on travel, cross-border investment and trade were among the topics discussed.

The FTA, which was signed by Panama and Mexico on April 3, 2014, has 21 chapters and covers some 4,000 duty-tariffs. For full details of the treaty, documentation and ads, visit the OEA repository about the FTA between Panama and Mexico.

The Mexican Congress approved the trade agreement on March 12, while Panama’s National Assembly gave its approval on October 8, 2014.

According article in La Estrella de Panama, the FTA between Panama and Mexico will serve to consolidate both countries as privileged production platforms for distribution of goods and services in the region and the world.

Mexico has doubled its trade with Panama over the past 10 years, totaling $ 1.009 million in 2014, making Panama the fourth largest trading partner of the region and twelfth in the world.

Furthermore Panama is the second largest Latin American investor in Mexico, but followed by Brazil with a total of $ 1.035 million between 1999 and 2014.

With the FTA with Mexico, Panama takes the first steps to form part of the Pacific Alliance (PA), regional integration initiative founded in 2011 (of which Panama is an observer) and formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. These four nations meet 40% of the GDP of Latin America and trade among its members reaches 4%.

One of the requirements to be part of the Pacific Alliance, is that Panama establishes FTA with member countries.

Panama and its Canal would be a strategic member to the Pacific Alliance and its partners in Asia and Europe because most of the trade would pass across the isthmus.

Sources: The Panama pespective, La Estrella de Panama