Dutch companies barred from Panama tenders

Panama’s government will exclude Dutch companies from participating in tenders, contracts or any other type of procurement, President José Raúl Mulino announced on Wednesday morning. 

The decision is due to the inclusion of Panama in the Netherlands’ list of low-tax and non-cooperative jurisdictions, which Mulino described as a “fiscal blacklist.”

On his social network account, he blamed Dutch policies, not Panamanian ones, for the decision.

Mulino said he will instruct the foreign ministry to file an official complaint before the Dutch government and will limit the access of companies from the Netherlands to the Panamanian market.

“I will instruct the ministry of foreign affairs to have it [the complaint] formalized as corresponds. Meanwhile, their companies will not be able to participate in any other public act or contract,” he said.

The situation of Dutch companies already participating in bidding processes in Panama and the length of the ban are unclear.