U.S., Panamanian Governments Sign Pact Today

Leaders from the United States and Panama today signed a free trade agreement between the two countries, marking another step toward implementation of a deal that would expand market access for U.S. companies, the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) said. Both Associations now urge Congress to give the FTA its full support at the soonest possible opportunity.

“International commerce is vital to America’s technology industry,” said Matt Flanigan, EIA’s interim president and CEO. “This agreement will strengthen our share of an important market and create new jobs here at home. We urge Congress to put our country on the right side of economic modernization and enact this agreement as soon as possible.

Leaders from the United States and Panama today signed a free trade agreement between the two countries, marking another step toward implementation of a deal that would expand market access for U.S. companies, the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) said. Both Associations now urge Congress to give the FTA its full support at the soonest possible opportunity.

"International commerce is vital to America's technology industry," said Matt Flanigan, EIA's interim president and CEO. "This agreement will strengthen our share of an important market and create new jobs here at home. We urge Congress to put our country on the right side of economic modernization and enact this agreement as soon as possible.

"This signing also underscores the need to renew the president's trade promotion authority," Flanigan added. "It's the best thing Congress can do to help U.S. companies compete abroad. Failure to do so would hamstring U.S. employers and workers and hand our foreign competitors an enormous advantage."

"The benefits of this agreement to both countries are abundantly clear," said TIA president Grant Seiffert. "We urge Congress to give U.S. manufacturers its support by approving the FTA when submitted by President Bush." TIA has long made FTAs a cornerstone of its international advocacy efforts.

U.S.-Panamanian commerce totaled $2.1 billion in 2003 and U.S. goods made up $1.8 billion of that amount, according to the office of United States Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab. Once approved by Congress, the agreement will make more than 88 percent of U.S. exports duty-free and phase out all remaining tariffs over 10 years. Currently more than 90 percent of Panamanian exports are exempted from tariffs in the U.S.

Now that Ambassador Schwab and Panama's Minister of Commerce and Industry, H.E. Alejandro Ferrer, have signed the pact, the U.S. International Trade Commission must complete a report on the free trade agreement within 90 days, clearing the way for the Bush Administration to submit it to Congress for a vote.

On Saturday, June 30, the U.S. and Korea are scheduled to sign a free trade agreement, another critical pact for the technology sector.