Colombian Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas and the Minister of Commerce Maria Claudia Lacouture announced Sunday, July 31 that they will be maintaining tariffs on footwear and textile imports from Panama to Colombia. The decision reportedly goes against World Trade Organization (WTO) policy.
According to a WTO ruling, Colombia should have eliminated tariffs imposed against Panamanian imports in 2012 — a decision made with the aim of protecting Colombian producers from the low price of textiles and footwear from the Colón, Panama. Since then, Colombia has charged a tax of 10 percent plus a fine of US $5 for each container of imports.