U.S. and Panama both Working to Quickly Implement FTA
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk met with Panamanian Commerce and Industry Minister Ricardo Quijano on March 14, 2012 to discuss progress on the implementation of the pending U.S.-Panama free trade agreement. Both Ambassador Kirk and Minister Quijano agreed to continue working intensively to bring the Panama FTA into force as quickly as possible, while ensuring that all obligations are fully met.
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(See ITT's Online Archives 11101417 for summary stating that Panama has already ratified the FTA. See ITT's Online Archives 11102103 for summary on President Obama signing Panama FTA Implementation Act into law.
See ITT's Online Archives 11033123 for summary of Administration's March 2011 view that Panama was close to completing its work on outstanding FTA issues, but still needed to address the protection of internationally recognized labor rights and implement a Tax Information Exchange Agreement.
See ITT's Online Archives 11040743 for April 2011 summary stating that Panama's President has signed several labor reform laws, and that the last outstanding U.S. concern was its implementation of a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA), which subsequently entered into force on April 18, 2011. See Treasury Dept announcement here.