White House advances U.S.-Panama FTA

White House advances U.S.-Panama FTA    The White House on Monday sent a letter to the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committee leaders that the administration is ready for the next step of the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement.
   'Panama has now fulfilled its commitments' to the meeting the free trade agreement, said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk in the letter.
   'I am pleased to report to you that the Office of the United States Trade Representative has completed its preparatory work on the agreement and stands ready to begin technical discussions with members of Congress on the draft implementing bill and draft statement of administrative action,' Kirk added. 'We hope our discussions to review these documents can commence without delay so that we can work together to bring the benefits of this agreement home to American businesses, farmers and workers.'

Kirk

   Industry groups applauded the Obama administration's effort to start moving the long awaited free trade agreement forward with Congress.
   'We commend the administration for working together with the Panamanian government to outline a pathway for approval of the agreement. In the same vein, we applaud Panama for fulfilling its commitments and taking quick action to ensure no further delay in consideration of the trade pact,' said Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council. 'The Panamanian parliament's approval last week of the bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreement, coupled with recent reforms in the nation's labor laws, helped to pave the way for today's announcement.'

Reinsch

   'Panama is an important export market for the United States, and our proximity to the canal makes Panama not only a destination for U.S. goods and services, but a vital link to other markets in the hemisphere,' added Chuck Dittrich, NFTC vice president for regional trade issues. 'With the FTA in place, our equipment manufacturers and logistics companies, among others, will also have a competitive advantage in selling their products and services to Panama as the nation enters the next phases of the canal expansion project slated for completion in 2014.'

Dittrich

   In terms of soybeans, the United States already has a large share of the Panamanian market. “Averaged across all agricultural products, the United States supplies 53 percent of Panamanian agricultural imports,” said American Soybean Association President Alan Kemper in a statement.
   The Panama FTA will prevent other countries, specifically other Latin and North American suppliers, from taking some of the current U.S. share of the Panamanian market, he said.
   Panama has completed a trade agreement with Canada. If this agreement goes into effect before the U.S. agreement, Canadian exporters will gain a significant competitive advantage over the United States in the market, Kemper warned.
   The Panama FTA will benefit U.S. soybean farmers by removing immediately upon entry into force tariffs on U.S. soybeans, soybean meal, and crude vegetable oils. Tariffs will also be removed immediately for high quality beef, certain chicken products, frozen whole turkeys and turkey breast, and pork variety meats. In 2010, U.S. exports of soybean products to Panama were $65 million.
   The trade associations urge the Obama administration to submit to Congress implementing legislation for all three pending FTAs — Panama, Colombia and South Korea — to ensure approval before the July 4 recess.