Panama suspends trade talks with Colombia
Panama has suspended trade talks, even though much of the agreement between the countries was reached
Panama has suspended trade talks, even though much of the agreement between the countries was reached
Talks hit an impasse over agricultural issues, market access and customs cooperation, said Francisco Alvarez, Pamana’s deputy trade minister.
“Instead of forcing the close (of negotiations) or generating some kind of crisis … we believed what was responsible in this moment was to suspend the process,” Alvarez told reporters.
Alvarez said negotiators had reached agreements on at least 21 of the treaty’s 25 chapters, but that no date for fresh talks had been set.
The two neighbors announced plans in February to negotiate a trade pact that they said would double bilateral trade.
Trade between the two countries, including seafood, agricultural products and construction materials, was worth $300m in 2009.
A former province of Colombia, Panama gained its independence in 1903 and retains close ties with its neighbor. But the two countries have squabbled in the past over more than $1bn in goods Colombia buys from Panama’s Caribbean tax-free zone due to shipping restrictions imposed by Colombia.
