PANAMA TO SIGN FTA WITH CANADA; SIGNING AT SOTA

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000227 SIPDIS WHSR PLEASE PASS TO USTR E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2019 TAGS: ECON ETRD PM PREL SUBJECT: PANAMA TO SIGN FTA WITH CANADA; SIGNING AT SOTA Classified By: DCM David Gilmour for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Panama will conclude negotiations on a free trade treaty with Canada this week, Minister of Commerce and Industry Gisela Alvarez de Porras told the Ambassador on March 17. The GOP hopes to sign the treaty with Canada during the Summit of the Americas, continued Porras. ¶2. (U) Panama currently has bilateral free trade agreements in place with El Salvador, Costa Rica, Taiwan, Chile and Singapore. The GOP has also concluded negotiations on free trade agreements with Honduras and Guatemala, which are awaiting ratification by their respective legislatures. Also, the GOP is currently negotiating free trade agreements with Nicaragua and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Panama cooperates with the Secretariat of Central American Integration (SIECA) as a non-voting member in order to participate in SIECA's free trade negotiations with the European Union. STEPHENSON