The U.S. Whitewashes Panama’s Fatal Flaws to Champion Their Free Trade Agreement

[Judi Lynn]

The U.S. Whitewashes Panama’s Fatal Flaws to Champion Their Free Trade Agreement
This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Carrie Burggraf
August 25, 2011

• Panama’s notoriously corrupt judiciary and political backdoor dealings make the U.S.-Panama FTA a most problematic transaction.
  
  
• This FTA is yet another example of catering to big business interests abroad; indeed, it creates few benefits for the average U.S. citizen while generating possibly detrimental effects in Panama.
  
  
• Several WikiLeaks cables have portrayed President Martinelli and other Panamanian government officials in a self-defaming light, as the government continues to be buffeted by daily scandals.
  
  
• Panamanian authorities seem to be totally unperturbed, but Washington continues to portray an exceedingly venal society as a virtuous trading partner.

More:
http://www.coha.org/the-u-s-whitewashes-panama%E2%80%99s-fatal-flaws-to-champion-their-free-trade-agreement/

Editorials:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x624020