The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama, Erika Mouynes, said on Tuesday that the United States has not yet “not” given the country a date to review the trade promotion treaty (TPC) and the tariff relief of sensitive lines, so they are advancing a strategy before that meeting takes place. “
We formally raised the interest of reviewing the reduction calendar (arancelaria), particularly for sensitive products; and just yesterday (Thursday, September 15) we had a meeting with the pig and poultry sector, also fine-tuning the strategy a little,” Mouynes said.
He indicated that he also met with the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Mida) and now he is going to.
He recalled that the request for the review of the TPC and the tariff relief of sensitive lines (rice, pork and meeting pieces and chicken thigh) was presented to the United States last April, and he already received it and replied last May formally, saying that they were willing to meet.
However, “no” a meeting date has been established. “We asked for the meeting and they gave us the answer. So far we are technically with them and now we have to set,” said the Panamanian chancellor. Therefore, he stressed that before going to a meeting you first have to have a strategy. “It is part of what we were doing and that will continue to refine a country strategy, which is led by the president on how to deal with an issue (TPC) that is very delicate,” Mouynes said.
The Panamanian Foreign Minister referred to it on Friday, September 16, in a courtesy of a room behind closed doors offered by members of the National Council of Private Enterprise
foreign policy priorities, particularly with the United States, but this has to be consistent with the national reality, and part of that exercise is to listen. “
What we come to do is to raise what we are doing and also to listen to their assessments from each of these sectors,” Mouynes said.
He insisted that they have to be sure that it is corresponding to reality, every time the country is on the international platform.
The president of the CoNEP, Rubén Castillo, for his part, said that in this meeting he will insist on “National producers must be supported, that is essential to ensure the safety and sustainability of the sector,” he said.
Regarding when the strategy would be ready, Mouynes said that after the meeting on Thursday, September 15, where the specific technical proposal was presented, they must meet with the Ministry of Commerce commercial team. Once it is agreed and endorsed by the president, then the strategic proposal would be presented.
Panama and the United States signed the TPC on June 28, 2007 and entered into force on October 31, 2012. The tariff relief begins this year (2022), with rice and chicken (piece of thigh meeting), which will allow the US industry to pay a lower tariff and as a consequence cause the Panamanian market to be flooded with imported products.