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Panama

Trade pacts set for heated fight
4-Oct-2011 WSJ
The AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation, opposes all three agreements and will hold a Capitol Hill demonstration Tuesday to protest them. But the short timeline mapped out for passage gives opponents little time to block the deals.
A critical look at pending free trade agreements
9-Sep-2011 WBEZ
We sift through the facts and myths of free trade agreements with Laura Carlsen, director of the Americas Program of the Center for International Policy and a columnist for Foreign Policy in Focus.
Commerce secretary Rahul Khullar heads to LatAm in Panama and Colombia for FTA talks
31-Aug-2011
After shunning Latin America two years ago, the government is now seeking closer economic ties with the region as part of its initiative to diversify markets for Indian merchandise.
The US whitewashes Panama’s fatal flaws to champion FTA
26-Aug-2011 Scoop
US policymakers would be wise to re-evaluate the TPA, carefully separating the pros from the cons.
US Senators reach compromise on free trade deals
4-Aug-2011 VoA
US Senate leaders have reached a potential bipartisan compromise on three long-delayed free-trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.
Trading our future: Tax cheating and the Panama free trade agreement
22-Jul-2011 Huffington Post
From World War II until NAFTA, US trading policies were based on geopolitical needs and what would increase prosperity for America. Since NAFTA, however, the mantra of free trade has been warped to generate rights for international capital and nothing else.
Free-trade agreements said to be delayed by Obama amid worker-aid dispute
21-Jul-2011 Bloomberg
President Barack Obama will delay sending free-trade agreements to Congress until lawmakers return from an August recess as a dispute with Republicans over a worker-aid program remains unresolved, according to people familiar with the decision.
’Free’ trade deals are bad for Mass. cities like Fall River
17-Jul-2011
Long before 2008, when Wall Street’s unchecked greed brought the world’s economy to its knees, we in the middle class could feel our future slipping away. We knew that we were working longer and harder — we could clearly see that even with two salaries, most families had less disposable income than families did in the ’60s and ’70s when one income was the norm.
SOCMA offers support for free trade pacts with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia
17-Jul-2011
The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) issued its support this week of the passage of pending free-trade agreements (FTA) with South Korea, Panama and Colombia by two Congressional committees. SOCMA is the US-based trade association representing custom and batch manufacturers, including contract manufacturers of fine chemicals, pharmaceutical intermediates, and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Free-trade deals would be costly to US
9-Jul-2011
For over a decade, the labor movement and development advocates have called for fair-trade policy that is part of a more coordinated and coherent national economic strategy. Unfortunately, the Korean, Colombian and Panamanian free-trade deals before Congress do not address the fundamental policy failures of the North American Free Trade Agreement and China’s inclusion into "favored nation status," which has led to catastrophic job loss in the U.S. and the explosion of our import/export deficit, now reaching $500 billion annually.
Free trade at what cost?
6-Jul-2011
Inking free trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Colombia is among the highest priorities for the U.S. business community.
Administration wants to send trade pacts to Congress before recess
21-Jun-2011
The Obama administration hopes to send all three pending free trade agreements — Colombia, Panama, and Korea — to Congress before the August recess.
Panama seeks FTA with Caribbean countries
16-Jun-2011 Prensa Libre
Panama will attend the Caribbean Investment Forum in Trinidad and Tobago, to offer Caribbean countries like Barbados, Belize and Jamaica free trade agreements negotiations, according to an official source.
Machinists union launches fair trade campaign on Facebook
9-Jun-2011
Countering GOP demands for the passage of three seriously-flawed trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) today launched a targeted, informational ad campaign on Facebook.
White House threatens to hold up key trade deals
16-May-2011
The White House is threatening to hold up final passage of three coveted free trade agreements unless lawmakers expand retraining assistance for American workers who lose their jobs because of foreign competition.
Disagreements hold up free trade agreements
13-May-2011 Watertown
The American Farm Bureau Federation supports the proposed US free trade agreements with Korea, Panama and Colombia, while the National Farmers Union is opposed.
Peru sees FTAs with Panama, Costa Rica coming into force in January 2012
11-May-2011
Peru’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with Panama and Costa Rica are expected to come into force in January 2012, according to the Andean country’s Foreign Trade and Tourism Ministry.
Panama deal opens way for other trade agreements
23-Apr-2011
Administration officials said Tuesday that a free trade agreement with Panama is ready for congressional consideration and that they hoped it will be part of a larger trade agenda that also includes completion of long-pending free trade treaties with South Korea and Colombia.
Panama human rights problems spotlighted in Washington
9-Apr-2011 Panama Newsroom
The list of US criticisms of human rights infringements in Panama under the Martinelli administration continues to grow and the president, unlike the leaders of other countries seeking an FTA, has still not been invited to the White House.
US business sees trade deals approved by July
8-Apr-2011
A new U.S. deal with Colombia to address longstanding labor concerns should clear the way for Congress to pass three long-stalled free trade agreements by July, industry officials said on Friday.