Panama Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Congress Legislation for Business and Manufacturers

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  • 8/6/2019 Panama Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Congress Legislation for Business and Manufacturers

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    ManuFACTS: U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion AgreementA Win-Win for Panama Consumers and U.S. Manufacturers

    1331 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 P 2026373000 F 2026373182 www.nam.org

    Panama offers U.S. manufacturers a growing opportunity for exports

    within a stable and expanding market. Panama has had one of the fastestgrowth rates of any economy in Latin America over the last four years,

    and its GDP has nearly doubled since 2000, according to the International

    Monetary Fund (IMF).

    Small and medium-sized manufacturers will strongly benefit from the

    U.S.-Panama agreement: over 7,250 small and medium-sized companies

    export manufactured goods to Panama, representing 85 percent of total

    U.S. exporters.

    Manufactured goods are the vast majority of U.S. exports to Panama. In

    2010, the U.S. exported $5.6 billion worth of manufactured goods to

    Panamaa 66-percent increase over 2007. Manufactured goods make upover 90 percent of total U.S. merchandise exports to Panama.

    Last year, we had a $5.5 billion trade surplus in manufactured goods with

    Panamaour eighth-largest among all trade partners.

    How Congress Can Help

    This trade agreement is a deficit-neutral, job-creating economic stimulus package. This preferential trade

    agreement will increase U.S. manufacturing exports to Panama. The Obama Administration needs to sendthis trade agreement to Congress for approval as quickly as possible, and Congress should act immediatelyto pass the implementing legislation.

    http://www.nam.org/http://www.nam.org/
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    Bottom LineThe U.S.-Panama trade agreement offers real advantages to

    the manufacturing sector:

    Due to preferences programs, over 90 percent of Panamas

    exports to the U.S. enter our market duty-freethey face no

    tariffs on their goods.

    U.S. manufactured goods face an average tariff of 8 percent

    in Panama. This agreement will lower these tariffs to zero, in

    most cases immediately.

    Over 90 percent of Panamas exports to the United Statesare returned goods, fish and other agricultural products.

    American manufacturing will not be impacted by Panamas

    exports.

    Failure to pass the agreement could cause the U.S. to loseour strong presence as a market leaderother countries

    such as Canada and the European Union are entering into

    trade agreements with Panama. Chinese manufacturers are

    increasingly competing in our market share as well. To keep our

    exports strong, we need the U.S.-Panama trade agreement.

    More Information

    Web:www.nam.org/trade

    E-mail:[email protected]

    April 2011

    http://www.nam.org/tradehttp://www.nam.org/trademailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.nam.org/trademailto:[email protected]