Colón Free Trade Zone


The Colón Free Trade Zone is a free port in Panama dedicated to re-exporting a wide variety of merchandise to Latin America and the Caribbean. It is located on the Caribbean coast, near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal, in the province of Colón, within the city of Colón though outside its municipal jurisdiction and operates as an autonomous entity of Panama.

Location and size

The Colón Free Trade Zone is the largest free port in the Americas, and second largest in the world. It started operations in 1948 and occupies about. It is divided in two large areas: one located in Colón, segregated from the city by a wall, and the other relatively new, in the harbor area, which is designated for warehouses, covering and from Colón's commercial sector.

Issues

Exports from the free trade zone into neighboring countries are still subject to local rules, regulations, and payment requirements of the importing country. Venezuela, one of the larger buyers from the zone, has had difficulty meeting its obligations to exporters from the zone resulting in unpaid debts. Colombia implemented a series of tariffs which had the effect of reducing imports, primarily from Asia.
The Zone was created by Decree Law No. 18 of 17 June 1948, as an autonomous entity to develop the country's competitive advantages. Recently, the legislation for the Zone was modernized by Decree Law No. 8 of 4 April 2016, to allow for new businesses, such as electronic commerce, construction and operation of ports and other commercial activities.