Peru and Panama Free Trade Agreements

In addition to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia, the Bush Administration negotiated trade agreements in Latin America with Peru and Panama.  The Peru agreement passed both houses of Congress in December 2007 but was not implemented immediately pending Peru taking additional steps on labor and environmental concerns.  As one of its last acts, the Bush Administration authorized implementation of the agreement in mid-January 2009 despite Peru not taking adequate steps.   The agreement was implemented February 1, 2009.

The Panama agreement met a number of obstacles and did not come up for a vote during the Bush Administration.   The Obama Administration in the spring of 2009 announced it wanted to move the Panama FTA forward as quickly as possible.  A vote could take place as early as the summer of 2009.   The Obama Administration is seeking labor law and tax code reform in Panama as a precondition for a vote.  

Like the Colombia FTA, both the approved agreement with Peru and the pending agreement with Panama are subject to a May 2007 Trade Deal which strengthens protections for workers when compared to previous trade agreements (e.g. CAFTA and NAFTA) but does not go far enough.

In addition, neither the Peru agreement, as passed, nor the pending Panama trade agreement go far enough to strengthen protections for farmers, the environment, or consumers and both have been opposed by the labor movements in their respective countries, as well as by the labor movement in the U.S.

USLEAP opposed the Peru agreement and continues to oppose the Panama agreement. However, USLEAP currently does not specifically cover Peru or Panama. For more information on these agreements, see the Citizens Trade Campaign and Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch.