The measures are thought to have been reintroduced due to Panama’s continued use of low cost Asian goods although the Association of Users of the Colón Free Trade Zone suspects that the Colombian government is reacting to pressure from domestic manufacturers who feel that their businesses and jobs are threatened by imports.  

The two countries recently signed a customs agreement that ended a long dispute over trade restrictions imposed within the Free Trade Zone but, the Colombian government now claims to have received complaints from the local leather and shoe industries about goods entering the country from Panama.

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