Colon Free Zone in crisis wants government help

ECONOMIC activity in Panama’s Free Trade Zone (CFZ) in Colon is in apparent free fall with 400 key enterprises closed and 9,000 jobs lost and the Zone’s administrators are calling for a government bail out by eliminating taxes.

Sustained commercial slowdown for about two years has significantly affected employees. During this period, says The Association of Users reveals that the number of workers has decreased by 9000, from about 33000 to 24000. In addition, it is estimated that in the last three years more than 400 users have withdrawn their operations from the zone. The total now sits at 2,600.
The figures were released Friday, June 19 at a meeting of the Business Logistics Council (COLE), which raised the alarm about the situation of the FTA. Slides with updated figures on the activity in the free zone confirmed that “the crisis continues to worsen,” say Severo Sousa, president of the council.
At the meeting the representatives of different grips agreed that the only way the FTA can begin to reverse this situation is for the government to remove all taxes to be paid by companies, which raise the cost of the merchandise sold, removing the competitiveness of the institution.
“If the government does not take the necessary measures to oxygenate the FTA, I do not think the outlook will improve There should be palliative measures. The FTA should be seen as a key trading post for the Panamanian logistics system, and to that extent we must free it from all taxes and restore competitiveness, “said Jose de la Rosa Lam, president of the Colon Chamber of Trade
The newly elected president of the AU for the period 2015-2016, Mark Tellez, said that by the end of 2014 economic activity of local companies in the FTA fell 31%, and by May this year to 43%.