What Panamá and Colombia seek agreement amid tension

The governments of Panama and Colombia began negotiations to reach an agreement to exchange tax information amid tension over trade and customs disputes.
Both governments have expressed the desire to reach an agreement, after Colombia decided to classify Panama as a tax haven.
This measure was rejected by Panama, and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to backtrack on the condition that the two countries signed a treaty to exchange tax and financial, necessary to combat tax evasion and money laundering information.
“We get to Panama from the list of tax havens after they signed a memorandum of understanding where they undertook, with date, negotiating a double taxation treaty, and a treaty with an exchange component of financial information, which was what we wanted from the beginning, “said the president at that time.
Meanwhile, Panama issued a favorable ruling last week by the World Trade Organization (WTO) said reasons for the week rispidez between the two countries.
At the request of Panama, the WTO ruled that Colombia taxes imposed since 2012 to footwear and textiles that enter Colombia from Panama’s Colon Free Zone Isthmian affect the competitiveness of the country and are at odds with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade .
From this ruling, companies that free zone may re-export footwear and textiles to the Colombian market without paying additional taxes on those already established by the tax code of Colombia, whose government announced it would appeal the WTO decision.
Meanwhile, the two countries are negotiating in secret tax agreement in Panama City.