Panamanian agriculture minister resigns over trade deal row
Panamanian Agriculture Minister Laurentino Cortizo told a press conference on Tuesday he had resigned because he could not accept President Martin Torrijos Espino's approach to free trade talks between Panama and the United States.

Cortizo said he had quit to protest President Espino's unilateral decision to write U.S. animal and plant health regulations into the text of the agreement, currently under negotiation between the two nations.

It would be a bad precedent in the country's relationship with other nations to adopt U.S. hygiene standards, he said.

However, Cortizo said the decision to leave had been one of the most difficult during his political career, as agriculture generates nearly 25 percent of the country's jobs.

The negotiations, which began their ninth round on Tuesday, are at an advanced stage and may well finish in this round. The deal is important for Panama, because the U.S. is its main commercial partner and the main user of the Panama Canal.

In 2004, close to 48 percent of Panama's exports went to the U.S., according to trade ministry statistics.

President Espino appointed Guillermo Salazar, chief negotiator of the country's free trade deal with the U.S., as the new agriculture minister within hours following Cortizo's resignation.