President of Panama José Raúl Mulino warned that companies providing services or holding contracts related to the concession of Panama Ports Company will have to adapt to the new legal reality after a ruling declared the contract between the state and the company unconstitutional. At his weekly press conference, the president explained that companies operating under the concession, both inside and outside the ports, are in the same situation as PPC. 'They are left without a contract,' the head of state emphasized. Mulino stated that while these are companies providing vital services within the logistics chain, the solution does not lie with the central government but in direct negotiations with the new operators. He highlighted that under the previous concession scheme, none of these tenants paid a single dollar in taxes to the state, even though Panama was a shareholder in PPC. Yesterday (Wednesday), a major European shipping company informed me that its parent company will approach the French government to have Panama suspended from that list. He indicated that no European company already operating in the country will be expelled. 'We have to make ourselves respected by the Europeans. Everyone has to pay taxes, including the transitional operators,' Mulino stated. Furthermore, he emphasized that there will be no tax exemptions in this new period. 'No one will be exempt,' he added. When questioned about his decision not to allow European companies to do business in Panama until the country is removed from its discriminatory lists, the head of state clarified that this prohibition only covers future state tenders. 'That's over. That's a good example, because those lists are political.'
