Stated objectives include eliminating obstacles to trade, consolidating access to goods and services and favoring private investment in and between both nations.
[1] The treaty has been said to be one of the main reasons for 2012 changes to copyright law of Panama, changes which have attracted a number of criticism from free culture and digital rights activists.
[2][3][4][5] The activists have criticized the U.S. government for giving in to the entertainment industry by putting pressure on Panama and other Latin American countries, forcing them to adopt what they see as less progressive copyright bills, infringing on free speech in detriment to the public interest.
stated that the U.S. opposition to his leadership was another chapter in a long history of American interference in Panamanian affairs, and rejected it as inappropriate[citation needed].
[6] President Martín Torrijos, a fellow PRD member who had negotiated the trade pact, made a private request for González to resign, but avoided publicly criticizing him.
[9] In the 112th U.S. Congress, the ascendancy of the Republican Party in the House of Representative led to new pressures to approve all three pending fast track free trade agreements (Colombia, Panama, and South Korea).
On October 12, 2011, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticized the Panama-United States Trade Promotion Agreement, arguing that Panama is a world leader in tax evasion and avoidance.