Truck Drivers Strike At
Panama/Costa Rica Border
The first major
disruption of the
nine-month-old Costa
Rican-Panamanian free
trade agreement came on
July 6, when
approximately 200 truck
drivers from Panama,
Costa Rica, and other
Central American
countries paralyzed
cargo crossing from Paso
Canoas, Panama to Cerro
Punta, Costa Rica.
The protest, sparked by
exorbitant Costa Rican
tariffs and taxes, draws
attention to the
inconsistencies within
the current
import/export fee
system.
Costa Rica previously
was charging vehicle
operators for driving
through the country,
even though the fees
violated a law passed in
2001. Manuel Mora,
president of the
National Association of
Truck Drivers of Panamá
(Canatraca) told Inside
Costa Rica that the
country "wants U.S. $70
for hauling a load
between Paso Canoas and
San José and U.S. $140
for travel between Paso
Canoas and Peñas Blancas"
on the Nicaraguan
border.
The organization's
secretary, Rafael Araúz,
called for international
cargo traffic along the
Inter-American highway
to be digitally tracked
in order to "to verify
who leaves with and
without a load, [giving]
us the opportunity to
check every single load,
to make sure that it
does not endanger the
transporter," a move
which would increase
transparency in the
system.
The protesting Costa
Rican truck drivers also
demand that San José
remove taxes on diesel
fuels and regulate the
amount of non-tico
truckers using Costa
Rican fuel in order to
lower prices.
Without reliable
transportation to and
from major ports, a
break in the system can
have serious
consequences. The number
of businesses using
Panama as a thoroughfare
for their goods
increased from 428 to
466 in 2006, with the
number projected to rise
after the expansion of
the Panama Canal
finishes.
The renewed free trade
agreement between the
two countries calculated
the increase in trade by
reducing the tariffs on
most industrial and
agricultural goods over
the next decade, but did
not take into account
the dramatic rise in
fuel prices.
Costa Rica is currently
looking for other
options to lower the
cost of fuel and has
accepted a July 8
invitation to send a
delegation of observers
to the upcoming
Petrocaribe summit in
Maracaibo, Venezuela on
July 11 and 12.
In spite of strong U.S.
ties, the Arias
government might be
turning towards
Petrocaribe, an energy
cooperation agreement
which offers Venezuelan
oil to signatory
countries on
preferential financial
terms. The bill for
Costa Rica's fuel
imports doubled in 2008
to U.S. $2.8 billion.
Canatraca is currently
considering breaking the
strike because the Costa
Rican government
eliminated all
restrictions on
Panamanian imports in
response to the truckers
claims. The Costa Rican
government, however,
would do well to step up
its efforts to mitigate
the effects of the fuel
crisis, lest it finds
itself facing more
protests from the
transportation sector.
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