Canada, Panama sign free-trade agreement

PANAMA CITY, Panama, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The leaders of Canada and Panama signed a free trade agreement in Panama City Tuesday and ended an import ban on Canadian beef.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Ricardo Martinelli signed the document that will see Panama drop import tariffs on 90 percent of Canadian imports immediately after ratification, the Canwest News Service reported.

Last year, Canada exported about $128 million worth of goods to Panama, the report said.

Separately, Panama will lift its ban on Canadian beef that was declared when mad cow disease hit Canada in 2003, the Globe and Mail reported.

Harper's minority Conservative government is also drafting free trade deals with the European Union, India, and various Central American and Caribbean countries, Canwest said.

The prime minister flew to Panama from the so-called Three Amigos summit in Mexico with U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, and was to return to Ottawa Tuesday night, his office said.