The measures are thought to have been reintroduced due to Panama’s continued use of low cost Asian goods although the Association of Users of the Colón Free Trade Zone suspects that the Colombian government is reacting to pressure from domestic manufacturers who feel that their businesses and jobs are threatened by imports.  

The two countries recently signed a customs agreement that ended a long dispute over trade restrictions imposed within the Free Trade Zone, however, the Colombian government now claims to have received complaints from the local leather and shoe industries about goods entering the country from Panama.

Commenting on the decision, President Uribe said that the new restrictions would be applied on a temporary basis until the Panamanian authorities were able to “apply the customs agreement efficiently.”

According to press reports, Panamanian companies which re-export textiles to Colombia have placed orders worth millions of dollars with their Asian suppliers after the restrictions were lifted in November and it is unclear what will happen when these orders are fulfilled now that the restrictions have been imposed once again.

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