The conflict escalated to the point that President Jose Raul Mulino himself suggested he might invoke the principle of reciprocity in international relations.

In response to the demands of his Costa Rican counterpart, Laura Fernandez, and the publicly stated decision, based on a 2025 World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling, to demand the annulment of the ban on agricultural imports into Panama, Mulino poonted out that while this dispute remains unresolved, Panama will not sell electricity to its neighboring nation.

In this regard, he specified that he instructed the Minister of Commerce and Industries, Julio Molto, to respond accordingly and carefully evaluate the matter in preparation for an upcoming meeting with energy authorities in San Jose.

Mulino, who attended Fernandez’s inauguration on May 8, confirmed to the media that he was the first to be surprised by the new president’s recent reaction. He recalled that former President Rodrigo Chaves (2022-2026) had asked her not to appeal to the WTO and to initiate talks on the matter.

Then, as now, he said, his duty is to defend the rights of producers and Panamanians in general. The Panamanian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement indicating that “several Panamanian plants, some with more than a decade of successful exports to Costa Rica and to highly demanding markets such as China, Japan, and the Caribbean, were disqualified or had their permits suspended without concrete solutions, despite multiple technical and diplomatic efforts undertaken by Panama.”

The diplomat’s message emphasizes that the country has consistently prioritized dialogue but also requested reciprocal technical evaluations of the health systems, which Costa Rica subsequently declined to participate in.

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