The Canada–Panama Free Trade Agreement is a

free trade agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occ ...

between

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

that went into effect April 1, 2013. It was concluded on August 11, 2009, by Canadian

Prime Minister Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

and Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and signed by the two countries' trade ministers on May 14, 2010. It was effective by December 2012, after both countries' parliamentary approval. The agreement eliminates Panamanian tariffs on 90% of goods from Canada. The remaining 10% will be phased out within the next ten years. Canada will remove 99% of its tariffs on goods from Panama, while keeping those on some imports of sugar, poultry, eggs and dairy products. Panama will end its ban on beef from Canada which was initiated after cases of

mad cow disease Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of t ...

were found in Canada in 2003. In 2008, bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Panama totaled $150 million. Trade has increased by 48 percent from 2007. Canada made up $127.9 million of total trade between the two countries, while Panama made up the remaining $21.2 million. Both countries' parliaments needed to approve the agreement before it could come into force. Some in Canadian opposition parties considered stalling it for their consideration of Panama as a

tax haven A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

. The agreement was negotiated over four meetings. The first negotiation started in October 2009. The negotiations followed two exploratory meetings over a possible agreement. In 1998, Panama and Canada signed the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). This agreement placed rights and obligations on foreign direct investments between the two countries. In 2006, FDI in Panama by Canadian companies was $111 million. On May 14, 2010, Canada's International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan, along with Panama's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Roberto Henríquez, signed the Canada–Panama Free Trade Agreement (FTA), as well as parallel agreements on labor cooperation and the environment. On June 11, 2012 a bill to implement the trade, environmental, and labor agreements were introduced in the Canadian parliament as Bill C-24.

External links

Official Statement from Canada's Prime Minister

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement Free trade agreements of Canada, Panama Treaties of Panama Treaties concluded in 2009 2009 in Canada Economy of Panama Canada–Panama relations

See also

External links

References