Washington DC – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today applauded the U.S. and Panamanian governments for working together to achieve agreement on an October 31 implementation date for the U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

"We welcome today's announcement that the U.S.-Panama FTA will enter into force next Wednesday," said NFTC President Bill Reinsch. "Similar to the FTAs with Colombia and South Korea, which were implemented earlier this year, implementation of the Panamanian agreement will help to grow the U.S. economy and support American jobs by increasing exports and expanding opportunities for American companies, farmers and ranchers."

"Panama is an important market for U.S. goods and services, and American exporters, both large and small, stand to benefit from the FTA," said NFTC Vice President for Regional Trade Issues Chuck Dittrich. "The agreement's entry into force will further strengthen the longstanding economic relationship between our two countries – a relationship particularly important to the United States – both because of Panama's growing economy and because the Panama Canal serves as a gateway to other leading economies in the region."