Describes bilateral and multilateral trade agreements that this country is party to, including with the United States. Includes websites and other resources where U.S. companies can get more information on how to take advantage of these agreements.
Last Published: 4/17/2016
Panama has full FTAs in force with the following countries or economies: (with date of entry into force): El Salvador (2003), Taiwan (2004), Singapore (2006), Chile (2008), Costa Rica (2009), Honduras (2009), Guatemala (2009), Nicaragua (2010),Peru (2012), U.S. (2012), Canada (2013), and Mexico (2015).  Panama has partial trade agreements with Dominican Republic (1987), and Cuba (2009).  It is engaged in active negotiations with Colombia and the EFTA countries and is part of the Central America-EU FTA that entered into force in 2013. 

The U.S. – Panama TPA eliminates tariffs on most U.S. products with remaining tariffs phasing out by 2022.  The TPA also includes provisions relating to customs administration and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, government procurement, investment, telecommunications, electronic commerce, intellectual property rights, and labor and environmental protection.  Under the TPA, U.S. firms have better access to Panama’s services sector than Panama provides to other WTO Members under the General Agreement on Trade in Services.  All services sectors are covered under the TPA except where Panama has made specific exceptions.  Moreover, Panama agreed to become a full participant in the WTO Information Technology Agreement.  Panama has also entered into a bilateral agreement with the United States that resolved a number of regulatory barriers to trade in agricultural goods ranging from meat and poultry to processed products, including dairy and rice.
 
Panama has bilateral investment agreements with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan, Canada, Argentina, Spain, Chile, Uruguay, the Czech Republic, Netherlands, Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Korea Ukraine, Sweden, Qatar, Finland, and Italy.  The U.S.-Panama Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) entered into force in 1991 (with additional amendments in 2001 to reflect Panama's joining the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).  The investor protection provisions in the TPA have supplanted those in the BIT.  However, investments made under the BIT maintain the option to invoke dispute settlement under either treaty until October 31, 2022.
 

 

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