Panama does not renew its Chinese Belt and Road deal in 2026
Panama formally notified its withdrawal from China's Belt and Road Initiative in 2025, an agreement signed in 2017 for a term automatically renewable every three years. The agreement was up for renewal in 2026 and was not renewed, against a backdrop of US pressure over the Panama Canal.
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Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino announced on 6 February 2025 that Panama was leaving China's Belt and Road Initiative, which the country had joined in 2017. Panama's embassy sent Beijing formal notice of withdrawal, with the 90-day notice period provided for in the agreement, according to the Anadolu Agency and the South China Morning Post.
The 2017 agreement provided for automatic renewal every three years, with the next renewal date falling in 2026. The withdrawal announcement came four days after a visit to Panama by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had stressed the need to reduce Chinese influence over the Panama Canal; US President Donald Trump had separately expressed interest in controlling the canal.
The 90-day notice period ran from the February 2025 announcement. The automatic 2026 renewal was not triggered, confirming Panama's exit from the initiative as of 27 September 2026. Panama otherwise remains, according to its national customs authority, one of the major trade crossing points between the United States, China and the rest of Latin America.
This decision is diplomatic in nature and concerns major infrastructure projects financed under the Chinese initiative, not customs duties or routine import formalities in Panama, which remained unchanged in the sources consulted at the time of writing.
What it changes for an importer
For our clients using the Panama Canal or the Colon Free Zone as a transit point into Latin America, this withdrawal is a political decision that does not, to our knowledge, change Panama's current customs rules. We continue to monitor this matter, since tensions over the canal could, over time, affect logistics costs and lead times; Sorva does not act as importer or customs clearance agent in Panama under any circumstances, a role that remains with the client or their local freight forwarder.
The certifications your country requires
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Latin America Import documents
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Certificate of origin (on the free trade agreement form where one exists, as with Chile, Peru, Costa Rica or Ecuador), invoice and packing list with the required particulars, translations into Spanish or Portuguese.
- List of the documents your customs authority asks for
- Certificate of origin requested in China on the right form
- Commercial invoice and packing list with the required particulars
- Review of the documents before shipment
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