Trading/Commerce: -The Caribbean coastline is marked by several good natural harbors. -The major port on the Pacific coastline is Balboa. -The United States and Panama signed a trade promotion agreement(free trade agreement). -U.S.-Panama FTA is a free trade agreement that can result in significant amount of trade in goods and services. -Panama has also entered into a agreement with the United States resolving a number of regulatory barriers to trade in agricultural goods. -The U.S.‐Panama Trade Promotion Agreement is an essential of the President’s efforts to increase opportunities for U.S. businesses. -The canal revolutionized global trade facilitating the transport of goods from West to East and vice-versa, reducing the time and distance required to ship items. -It places a country of 3.5 million people at the epicenter of global commerce. -The most frequently transported items on cargo ships in 2012 were petroleum, grains, coal and petrochemicals, but the list of goods moved through the canal is huge -As global trading has increased, the canal has reached capacity, and expansion is required. - In 2006, Panama’s voters approved that permitted the ACP to move forward with a third set of locks. The project will widen and deepen the existing canal and add two locks, doubling the canal’s cargo capacity.