Background Notes: Panama, March 1998

Released by the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs.

Official Name: Republic of Panama

PROFILE

People

Nationality: Noun and adjective--Panamanian(s).
Population (1997 est.): 2.82 million.
Annual growth rate: 2%.
Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed Indian and European ancestry) 70%, West Indian 14%, Caucasian 10%, Indian 6%.
Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant (Evangelical) 15%.
Languages: Spanish (official); 14% speak English as their native tongue; various Indian languages.
Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--95% for primary school-age children, 96% for secondary. Literacy--about 90% overall: urban 94%, rural 62%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--17/1,000. Life expectancy--74 yrs.
Workforce (910,000): Government and community services--32%. Agriculture--27%. Commerce, restaurants, and hotels--16%. Manufacturing and mining--9%. Transportation and communication--6%. Construction--3%. Finance, insurance, and real estate--4%.

Geography

Area: 77,381 sq. km. (29,762 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than South Carolina. Panama occupies the southeastern end of the isthmus forming the land bridge between North and South America.
Cities: Capital--Panama City (827,828). Other cities--Colon (140,908), David (102,678).
Terrain: Mountainous (highest elevation Cerro Volcan, 3,475 m.--11,468 ft.); coastline 2,857 km. (1,786 mi.).
Climate: Tropical, with average daily rainfall 28 mm. (1 in.) in winter.

Government

Type: Constitutional democracy.
Independence: November 3, 1903.
Constitution: October 11, 1972; amended 1983 and 1994.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), two vice presidents. Legislative--Legislative Assembly (unicameral, 72 members). Judicial--Supreme Court.
Subdivisions: Nine provinces and two (Indian) territories.
Political parties: President Perez Balladares belongs to the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), which in a coalition with smaller parties, holds a slim majority in the Legislative Assembly. Opposition parties include Arnulfista Party (PA), to which former President Endara belongs; the Christian Democratic Party (PDC); the Papa Egoro Party; and the National Liberal Republic Movement (MOLIRENA).
Suffrage: Universal and compulsory at 18.

Economy (1997)

Real GDP (1982 prices): $6.5 billion.
Annual growth rate: 3.6%.
Real per capita GDP: $2,402.
Natural resources: Timber, seafood, copper.
Services (72% of GDP): Finance, insurance, canal-related services, Colon Free Zone.
Agriculture (11% of GDP): Products--bananas and other fruit, corn, sugar, rice, coffee, shrimp, timber, vegetables, cattle. Land--agricultural 24%, exploitable forest 20%, other 56%.
Industry (19% of GDP): Types--food and drink processing, metalworking, petroleum products, chemicals, paper and paper products, printing, mining, refined sugar, clothing, furniture, construction.
Trade: Exports--$592 million: bananas 33%, shrimp 11%, sugar 4%, coffee 2%, clothing 5%. Major markets--U.S. 40%. Imports--$2.95 billion: capital goods 21%, crude oil 11%, foodstuffs 9 %, other consumer and intermediate goods 57%. Major suppliers--U.S. 40%.
Exchange rate: Fixed at unity with the U.S. dollar.

PEOPLE

The culture, customs, and language of the Panamanians are predominantly Caribbean Spanish. Ethnically, the majority of the population is mestizo (mixed Spanish and Indian) or mixed Spanish, Indian, Chinese, and West Indian. Spanish is the official and dominant language; English is a common second language spoken by the West Indians and by many in business and the professions. More than half the population lives in the Panama City-Colon metropolitan corridor.

Panama is rich in folklore and popular traditions. Brightly colored national dress is worn during local festivals and the pre-Lenten carnival season, especially for traditional folk dances like the tanborito. Lively salsa--a mixture of Latin American popular music, rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock--is a Panamanian specialty. Indian influences dominate handicrafts such as the famous Kuna textile molas. Artist Roberto Lewis' Presidential Palace murals and his restoration work and ceiling in the National Theater are well known and admired.

Over 65,000 Panamanian students attend the University of Panama, the Technological University, and the University of Santa Maria La Antigua, a private Catholic institution. Including smaller colleges, there are 14 institutions of higher education in Panama.

The first six years of primary education are compulsory, and there are 357,000 students currently enrolled in grades one through six. The total enrollment in the six secondary grades is 207,000. Nearly 90% of Panamanians are literate.

HISTORY

Panama's history has been shaped by the evolution of the world economy and the ambitions of great powers. Rodrigo de Bastidas, sailing westward from Venezuela in 1501 in search of gold, was the first European to explore the Isthmus of Panama. A year later, Christopher Columbus visited the isthmus and established a short-lived settlement in the Darien. Vasco Nunez de Balboa's tortuous trek from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 1513 demonstrated that the isthmus was indeed the path between the seas, and Panama quickly became the crossroads and marketplace of Spain's empire in the New World. Gold and silver were brought by ship from South America, hauled across the Isthmus, and loaded aboard ships for Spain. The route became known as the Camino Real, or Royal Road.

Panama was part of the Spanish empire for 300 years (1538-1821). From the outset, Panamanian identity was based on a sense of "geographic destiny," and Panamanian fortunes fluctuated with the geopolitical importance of the isthmus. The colonial experience also spawned Panamanian nationalism as well as a racially complex and highly stratified society, the source of internal conflicts that ran counter to the unifying force of nationalism.

BUILDING THE CANAL

Modern Panamanian history has been shaped by its trans-isthmian canal, which had been a dream since the beginning of Spanish colonization. From 1880 to 1900, a French company under Ferdinand de Lesseps attempted unsuccessfully to construct a sea-level canal on the site of the present Panama Canal. In November 1903, with U.S. encouragement and French financial support, Panama proclaimed its independence and concluded the Hay/Bunau-Varilla Treaty with the United States. The treaty conceded rights to the United States "as if it were sovereign" in a zone roughly 10 miles wide and 50 miles long. In that zone, the U.S. would build a canal, then administer, fortify, and defend it "in perpetuity." In 1914, the United States completed the existing 83-kilometer (50-mile) lock canal, which today is one of the world's greatest engineering triumphs. The early 1960s saw the beginning of sustained pressure in Panama for the renegotiation of this treaty. (See discussion of United States-Panama relations and the 1977 Panama Canal Treaties below.)

MILITARY COUPS AND COALITIONS

From 1903 until 1968, Panama was a constitutional democracy dominated by a commercially oriented oligarchy. During the 1950s, the Panamanian military began to challenge the oligarchy's political hegemony. In October 1968, Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid, twice elected president and twice ousted by the Panamanian military, was again ousted as president by the National Guard after only 10 days in office. A military junta government was established, and the commander of the national guard, Brigadier General Omar Torrijos, emerged as the principal power in Panamanian political life. Torrijos' regime was harsh and corrupt, but he was a charismatic leader whose populist domestic programs and nationalist foreign policy appealed to the rural and urban constituencies largely ignored by the oligarchy.

Torrijos' death in 1981 altered the tone but not the direction of Panama's political evolution. Despite 1983 constitutional amendments which appeared to proscribe a political role for the military, the Panama Defense Force (PDF), as they were then known, continued to dominate Panamanian political life behind a facade of civilian government. The PDF's hand-picked candidate won the presidential election in 1984. Pro-government parties also won a majority of Legislative Assembly seats, in races tainted by charges of corruption. By this time, General Manuel Noriega was firmly in control of both the PDF and the civilian government.

The rivalry between civilian elites and the Panamanian military, a recurring theme in Panamanian political life since the 1950s, developed into a grave crisis in the 1980s. Prompted by government restrictions on media and civil liberties, in the summer of 1987 more than 100 business, civic, and religious groups formed a loose coalition that organized widespread anti-government demonstrations.

Panama's developing domestic crisis was paralleled by rising tensions between the Panamanian Government and the United States. The United States froze economic and military assistance to Panama in the summer of 1987 in response to the political crisis and an attack on the U.S. embassy. The Government of Panama countered by ousting the U.S. Agency for International Development in December 1987; before the end of the year, the U.S. Congress cut off all assistance to Panama. General Noriega's February 1988 indictment in U.S. courts on drug trafficking charges sharpened tensions; in April 1988, President Reagan invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, freezing Panamanian Government assets in U.S. banks and prohibiting payments by American agencies, firms, and individuals to the Noriega regime.

When national elections were held in May 1989, Panamanians voted for the anti-Noriega candidates by a margin of over three-to-one. Although the size of the opposition victory and the presence of international observers thwarted regime efforts to control the outcome of the vote, the Noreiga regime promptly annulled the election and embarked on a new round of repression.

By the fall of 1989, the regime was barely clinging to power. An unsuccessful PDF coup attempt in October produced bloody reprisals. Deserted by all but a small number of cronies, and distrustful of a shaken and demoralized PDF, Noriega began increasingly to rely on irregular paramilitary units called Dignity Battalions. In December 1989, the regime's paranoia made daily existence unsafe for U.S. forces and other U.S. citizens.

On December 20, President Bush ordered the U.S. military into Panama to protect U.S. lives and property, to fulfill U.S. treaty responsibilities to operate and defend the Canal, to assist the Panamanian people in restoring democracy, and to bring Noriega to justice. The U.S. troops involved in Operation Just Cause achieved their primary objectives quickly, and troop withdrawal began on December 27. Noreiga eventually surrendered to U.S. authorities voluntarily. He is now serving a 40-year sentence in Florida for drug trafficking.

Rebuilding Democracy

Panamanians moved quickly to rebuild their civilian constitutional government. On December 27, 1989, Panama's Electoral Tribunal invalidated the Noreiga regime's annulment of the May 1989 election and confirmed the victory of opposition candidates under the leadership of President Guillermo Endara, and Vice Presidents Guillermo Ford and Ricardo Arias Calderon.

President Endara took office as the head of a four-party minority government, pledging to foster Panama's economic recovery, transform the Panamanian military into a political force under civilian control, and strengthen democratic institutions. During its five-year term, the Endara Government struggled to meet the public's high expectations. Its new police force proved to be a major improvement in outlook and behavior over its thuggish predecessor, but was not fully able to deter crime. Its overall record was not enough to convince a skeptical public that it deserved re-election in 1994.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Panama is a representative democracy with three branches of government: executive and legislative branches elected by direct, secret vote for five-year terms, and an independent appointed judiciary. The executive branch includes a president and two vice presidents. The legislative branch consists of a 72-member unicameral Legislative Assembly. The judicial branch is organized under a nine-member Supreme Court and includes all tribunals and municipal courts. An autonomous Electoral Tribunal supervises voter registration, the election process, and the activities of political parties. Everyone over the age of 18 is required to vote, although those who fail to do so are not penalized.

Ernesto Perez Balladares was sworn in as President on September 1, 1994, after an internationally monitored election campaign. The campaign was Panama's largest, with seven candidates for the presidency, over 2,500 for the legislature, 2,000 for mayoral posts, and more than 10,000 at the local level and was peaceful, orderly, and efficient.

Ernesto Perez Balladares ran as the candidate for a three-party coalition dominated by the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), the erstwhile political arm of the military dictatorship during the Torrijos and Noreiga years. A long-time member of the PRD, Perez Balladares worked skillfully during the campaign to rehabilitate the PRD's image, emphasizing the party's populist Torrijos roots rather than its association with Noriega. He won the election with only 33% of the vote when the major non-PRD forces, unable to agree on a joint candidate, splintered into competing factions.

President Perez Balladares has broad powers under Panama's current constitution, but must work with a Legislative Assembly in which his PRD party and its political allies have only a bare majority. Although the assembly lacks strong budgetary authority, it does play a crucial role in designing political, economic, and social initiatives; President Perez Balladares has governed with a multi-party cabinet that includes prominent experts in their fields as well as several members who publicly opposed Noriega. His administration has carried out economic reforms and worked closely with the U.S. on implementation on the Canal treaties.

National Security

The Panamanian Government has converted the former Panama Defense Forces (PDF) into a civilian "public force," subordinate to civilian officials and composed of four independent units: the Panamanian National Police, the National Maritime Service (Coast Guard), the National Air Service, and the Institutional Protective Service (VIP Security). A constitutional amendment, passed in 1994, abolished the military permanently.

Law enforcement units that have been separated from the public force, such as the Technical Judicial Police, are also directly subordinate to civilian authorities. The public force budget--in contrast to the former PDF--is on public record and under control of the executive.

The United States, with congressional approval, is delivering assistance to help train and establish truly professional law enforcement agencies. In fiscal year 1997, the United States provided police skills training and technical assistance in civilian law enforcement development through a program managed by the International Criminal Investigative and Training Assistance Program (ICITAP).

Principal Government Officials

President--Ernesto PEREZ BALLADARES
First Vice President--Tomas G. ALTAMIRANO DUQUE
Second Vice President--Felipe VIRZI
Ministry of Foreign Affairs--Ricardo Alberto ARIAS
Ambassador to the U.S.--Eloy ALFARO
Ambassador to the UN--Aquilino BOYD
Ambassador to the OAS--Lawrence CHEWNING Fabrega

Panama maintains an embassy in the United States at 2862 McGill Terrace, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008 (tel: 202-483-1407).

ECONOMY

Panama's economy is primarily based on a well-developed services sector that accounts for 72% of GDP. Services include the Panama Canal, banking, insurance, government, and the Colon Free Zone--the world's second-largest free trade zone after Hong Kong. Mining, tourism, and maritime services are projected sources of future growth.

A major challenge the Balladares Administration faces is turning to productive use the 70,000 acres of U.S. military land and more than 5,000 buildings which will revert to Panama by the end of 1999. As the U.S. military departs, Panama will have to replace jobs and income earned from U.S. bases. Estimates of Department of Defense contribution to the Panamanian economy through employing Panamanians, local procurement, and expenditures by personnel range from $170-$350 million.

Although the economic recovery of the early 1990s returned the economy to 1987, pre-crisis levels, sustained growth depends on Panama's ability to resolve long-standing problems of inequitable distribution of wealth, external debt, and dependence on U.S. Government and Canal revenues. Under- and unemployment continue to weigh down the national economy. Panama's working-age population is expected to grow 2.5% per year during the 1990s. Panama acceded to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in October 1996. To bring its regime into compliance with the WTO, Panama has reduced tariffs over a broad range of products and eliminated non-tariff barriers.

In 1997, U.S. merchandise exports to Panama were $1.2 billion; U.S. imports from Panama were $231 million, for an overall U.S. trade surplus of just under $1 billion. Trade with the U.S. comprises roughly 40% of Panama's total merchandise trade.

To rationalize its economy and help to sustain economic growth, the government of Panama intends to continue privatizing parastatals. The water and electricity companies are slated for privatization in 1998. In recent years, Panama has privatized the ports of Cristobal and Balboa, the cement and telecom companies and the casinos. In addition to sustaining the pace of privatizations, the Perez Balladares Administration must also take steps to reduce public sector employment and rigidities in the labor code which tend to perpetuate unemployment.

U.S. companies play an important role in the Panamanian economy. They are particularly active in banking, bananas, ports, and other services. Approximately 100 U.S. companies operate in Panama.

Role of Business

The government of Panama actively promotes Panama's long-standing reputation as an international trading, banking, and services center, and as a site for foreign direct investment. Panama's economy is characterized by low inflation and zero foreign exchange risk. In early 1998, Panama enacted a new banking law which is intended to detect and deter money laundering. The country is taking steps to improve its infrastructure with private and international financial institution financing.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Panama is a member of the UN General Assembly, most major UN agencies, and has served three terms as a member of the UN Security Council. It maintains membership in several international financial institutions, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Panama is a member of the Organization of American States, and was a founding member of the Rio Group. Although it was suspended from the Latin American Economic System (known informally both as the Group of Eight and the Rio Group) in 1988 due to its internal political system under Noriega, Panama was re-admitted in September 1994 as an acknowledgment of its present democratic credentials. Panama is also one of the founding members of the Union of Banana Exporting Countries and belongs to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.

Panama is an active participant in Central American regional meetings, although it is not a formal participant in integration activities. Panama is a member of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) as well as the Central American Integration System (SICA). Panama joined its six Central American neighbors at the 1994 Summit of the Americas in signing the Alliance for Sustainable Development known as the Conjunta Centroamerica-USA or CONCAUSA to promote sustainable economic development in the region and participates in some Miami summit follow-on meetings.

Panama strongly backed efforts by the United States to implement UN Security Council Resolution 940, which was designed to facilitate the departure of Haiti's de facto authorities from power. Panama offered to contribute personnel to the Multinational Force, which restored the democratically elected government to Haiti in October 1994, and granted asylum to some former Haitian military leaders. Also in 1994, Panama agreed to accept 9,000 Cuban "rafters," who were housed temporarily on U.S. military range areas until 1995.

U.S.-PANAMANIAN RELATIONS

The Panama Canal Treaties have provided the foundation for an enduring partnership. The U.S. and Panama are implementing the treaties by preparing for the transfer to Panama of the Canal and the U.S. base properties. Headquarters of the U.S. Southern Command transferred to Miami in 1997. U.S. development assistance through USAID in FY 1997 was $3 million. Panama does not have a military, therefore the United States provides no bilateral military assistance to the country. However, civic action projects, direct, and indirect military spending pump several hundred million dollars annually into the Panamanian economy.

The United States cooperates with the Panamanian Government in promoting economic, political, and social development through U.S. and international agencies. Cultural ties between the two countries are strong, and many Panamanians come to the United States for higher education and advanced training. Approximately 6,000 Americans reside in Panama, most of whom are retirees from the Panama Canal Commission and individuals who hold dual nationality. The number of U.S. visitors to Panama from July 1995 to June 1996 averaged around 3,600. President Perez Balladares, a Notre Dame and Wharton School graduate, has pursued a close relationship with the United States.

Panama continues to fight against illegal narcotics. The country's proximity to major cocaine-producing nations and its role as a commercial and financial crossroads make it a country of special importance in this regard. Although money laundering remains a problem, a new banking law of 1998 should help combat this crime. Panama has worked closely with the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Principal U.S. Officials

U.S. Embassy
Ambassador--William J. Hughes
Deputy Chief of Mission--Edward B. O'Donnell, Jr.
Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs--Lewis Amselem
Counselor for Public Affairs--Patrick Duddy
Counselor for Administrative Affairs--Manuel Acosta
Consul General--Paul Kline

Panama Canal Commission
Administrator--Alberto ALEMAN Zubieta
Deputy Administrator--Joseph Cornelison

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Director--Dr. Ira Rubinoff

The U.S. embassy in Panama is located at Avenida Balboa y Calle 38, Panama City (tel: 507-227-1777). Personal and official mail for the embassy and members of the mission may be sent to: U.S. Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002.

E-mail: U.S. Information Service (USIS): usispan@pty.com
Political/Economic Section--embpol@sinfo.net

OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION

American Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Panama
Estafeta Balboa
Apartado 168
Panama, Republica de Panama
Tel: (507) 269-3881
Fax: (507) 223-3508
E-mail: amcham@pan.gbm.net

U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Office of Latin American and the Caribbean
14th and Constitution, NW
Washington, D.C. 20230
Tel: (202) 482-0057
800-USA-TRADE
Fax: (202) 482-0464
Home Page: http://www.ita.doc.gov

THE PANAMA CANAL TREATIES

The 1977 Panama Canal Treaties entered into force on October 1, 1979. They replaced the 1903 Hay/Bunau-Varilla Treaty between the United States and Panama, and all other United States-Panama agreements concerning the Panama Canal which were in force on that date. The treaties comprise:

-- A basic treaty governing the operation and defense of the Canal from October 1, 1979, to December 31, 1999 (Panama Canal Treaty); and

-- A treaty guaranteeing the permanent neutrality of the Canal (Neutrality Treaty).

The details of the arrangements for U.S. operation and defense of the Canal under the Panama Canal Treaty are spelled out in separate implementing agreements.

Purpose of the Treaties

In negotiating the Panama Canal Treaties, four successive United States Administrations acted to protect a fundamental national interest in long-term access to a secure and efficient Canal. Panama's cooperation is fundamental to this objective. By meeting Panamanian aspirations for eventual control of the Canal, the United States sought a new relationship with Panama based on friendship and mutual respect. The treaties make Panama a partner in the continued safe and efficient operation of the Canal. In serving the best interests of both nations, the treaties serve the interests of all users of the Canal.

History of the Negotiations

Our bilateral relationship with Panama has centered on the Panama Canal since the beginning of the century. Under the 1903 treaty, the United States acquired unilateral rights to build and operate a canal in perpetuity. It also acquired the Canal Zone--a 553 square-mile area in which the United States exercised the rights, power, and authority of a sovereign state. In January 1964, Panamanian dissatisfaction with this relationship boiled over into riots which resulted in the deaths of four U.S. Marines and more than 20 Panamanians. A three-month suspension of diplomatic relations followed.

The growing bilateral tension in the 1960s gave weight to the views of those who believed that a new Canal Treaty was needed to replace the 1903 treaty and to establish a new relationship with Panama. In June 1967, United States and Panamanian negotiators completed draft treaties dealing with the existing Canal, a possible sea-level Canal through Panama, and defense matters. Neither country ratified the treaties, however, and they were publicly rejected by the new Torrijos Government in 1970.

A resumption of treaty negotiations resumed led to a declaration of principles signed in 1973 by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his Panamanian counterpart, Juan Antonio Tack. On September 7, 1977, President Carter and General Torrijos signed the Panama Canal Treaties at the headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington, DC. The Panamanian people approved the new treaties in a plebiscite held on October 23, 1977. The U.S. Senate ratified the Neutrality Treaty on March 16, 1978, and the Panama Canal Treaty on April 18, 1978. The treaties entered into force on October 1, 1979. The protocol to the Neutrality Treaty is open to accession by all nations, and more than 35 have subscribed.

Basic Provisions of the Treaties

The United States has primary responsibility for the operation and defense of the Canal until December 31, 1999. After that date, the United States and Panama will maintain a regime of neutrality for the Canal, including nondiscriminatory access and tolls for merchant and naval vessels of all nations. A U.S. Senate condition attached to the instruments of ratification allows the U.S. and Panama to negotiate a post-1999 defense-sites treaty, if both countries find such a treaty in their mutual interest. Negotiations for a possible post-1999 U.S. presence in Panama in a proposed multinational counternarcotics center (MCC) are ongoing as of March 1998.

In order to meet its treaty responsibilities, the United States has the right to use specified land and water areas and facilities in Panama necessary for the operation, maintenance, and defense of the Canal until December 31, 1999. U.S. warships will be entitled to expeditious passage through the Canal at all times, however, and the United States will continue to have the right to ensure that the Canal remains open and secure.

The United States operates the Canal through the Panama Canal Commission (PCC), which is a U.S. Government agency supervised by a Board of Directors consisting of five American and four Panamanian members, appointed by the President (the Panamanian members are initially nominated by their government). Until 1990, the Canal Administrator was an American and the Deputy Administrator was Panamanian; these nationalities reversed for the final decade of the treaty on September 20, 1990, when Gilberto Guardia was installed as the first Panamanian Administrator. He was succeeded in 1996 by another Panamanian, Alberto Aleman Zubieta. Pursuant to treaty obligations, the PCC is training Panamanians in all areas of Canal operations prior to the transfer of the Canal in 1999. Panamanian citizens currently comprise over 92% of the PCC workforce. In 1997 President Perez Balladares named the members of the Panama Canal Authority (PCA) which will be the successor agency to the PCC.

During the life of the treaty, Panama receives the following payments from Canal revenues:

-- A fixed annual payment of $10 million;

-- An annual payment of $10 million, adjustable for inflation, for public services provided to Canal operating areas by the Government of Panama (the Canal Zone and its government ceased to exist when the treaties entered into force, and Panama assumed jurisdiction over Canal Zone territories and functions);

-- An annual percentage of toll revenues assessed at $0.39 (since October 1, 1996) per Panama Canal net ton transiting the Canal, worth $84.6 million in 1996; and

-- A payment of up to $10 million in the event that revenues exceed PCC expenditures in a given year.

Under U.S. implementing legislation (the Panama Canal Act), the PCC must be self-sustaining; its costs may not exceed its revenues, nor may U.S. taxpayer funds be used for Canal operations or payments to Panama.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION

The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on immigration practices, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country.