• by IPS Correspondents (panama city)
• Friday, November 18, 1994
• Inter Press Service

PANAMA CITY, Nov 18 (IPS) - An increase in the number of conditions placed by the United States on Panama's entry to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), caused expressions of concern from the local business sector on Friday.

The United States has demanded tariff reductions of up to 80 percent on 420 products, and has also asked Panama to open its borders to a range of U.S. services - free of legal restrictions - including sales, consultancy, insurance, health, tourism and transport, many of which are currently restricted to Panamanians.

The Panamanian Industrialists Union (SIP), which released the information, said that these requirements have created "great concern" in the local business community.

SIP representatives said that they are not ready to discuss tariff reductions, as the minimum margins needed for various sectors to continue in operation is not known, nor is the amount of time needed for reductions to be made.

They said that new tariffs would have to remain at around 40 percent, while the U.S. is demanding that tariffs, some of which are at 90 percent, be dropped to as low as ten percent.

The SIP said that this could result in "the disappearance of a large number of industries and the loss of thousands of jobs, without the security that GATT membership will bring new investors to replace what will be lost."

Panamanian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Nitzia Villareal, said that no abrupt changes would be made to the economy if they were likely to damage the nation, though GATT membership - and access to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) - would directly result in the liberalisation of the service sector.

Panama has already passed copyright and intellectual property rights laws to satisfy GATT entry requirements.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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