Free Trade Agreement between Central America and Panama

Course summary Free Trade Agreement between Central America and Panama

The Free Trade Agreement between Central America and Panama has some common rules for the five countries of Central America and Panama, consisting of twenty-two chapters covering the following topics:
- Initial Provisions
- General Definitions

-National Treatment and Market Access Market
- Rules of Origin
- Customs procedures

- Safeguard Measures
- Unfair Trade Practices
- Sanitary and Phytosanitary
- Measures of standardization, metrology and authorization procedures

- Investment
- Trade in services
- Financial Services
- Telecommunications
- Temporary Entry of Business Persons
- Competition policy, monopolies and state enterprises

- Procurement
- Intellectual property
- Transparency
- Administration of the treaty
- Settlement of Disputes

- Exceptions
- Final Provisions
Additionally, in the bilateral protocol between Costa Rica and Panama are established preferential access conditions for goods and services, the specific rules of origin bilateral annexes to public procurement and financial services.

Example of the course Free Trade Agreement between Central America and Panama

Objectives of the Free Trade Agreement between Central America and Panama
- Strengthen the natural and traditional trade ties between both countries.
- Establish a legal framework to improve the conditions for increase trade, creating greater economic benefits for the population and thereby contributing to raising standards of living and generate new employment opportunities.
- To encourage greater flows of trade through preferential access, free of barriers and distortions.
- Provide, through a deeper business relationship and integrated, greater choice and selection options for domestic consumers.

Entry into force Panama – Central America Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

- The free trade agreement between El Salvador and Panama entered into force on 11 April 2003.
- On 23 November 2008 the Costa Rica-Panama Free Trade Agreement entered into force.
- On 09 January 2009, the Honduras-Panama Free Trade Agreement entered into force.
- The free trade agreement between Guatemala and Panama entered into force on 22 June 2009.
- On 21 November 2009, the Nicaragua-Panama bilateral protocol entered into force.

On 30 May 2006, El Salvador and Panama signed a protocol modifying the bilateral protocol to the free trade agreement that has been in effect since 2003.

On 13 August 2010, the Administrative Sub-Comission for the FTA met to assess the agreement and to prepare for the next ministerial meeting. The first meeting of the Administrative Comission took place in Guatemala on 07 October 2010.

Free Trade Agreements (FTA) of Panama