The debate on labour and environmental standards reflects differences from both the economic and political perspective. From an economic point of view, it has been suggested that firms in developing countries could benefit from an “unfair” competitive advantage, as their lower standards are the basis of their lower costs, resulting in lower prices for products that may compete with those of industrialized countries59. In addition, critics have argued that trade agreements should not support production standards that lead to unacceptable working conditions or serious environmental degradation. House Ways and Means Committee holds a hearing on free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Colombia already has an overwhelming majority of the benefits of international trade between the two countries, and the agreement provides for the immediate abolition of tariffs of up to 72% of all Panamanian imports from Colombia. Fourth round of free trade negotiations between Colombia and Panama The Colombian agreement, which reflected The Democrats` concerns about working conditions, received the least support, but was still passed by 66-33 votes in the Senate and 262-167 in the House of Representatives. The free trade agreement would create a Trade Capacity Building Committee (TCB) to help Panama move to freer trade with the United States. In general, the committee`s mission is to provide technical assistance and coordinate funding to accelerate the transition period, in the hope of increasing trade while minimizing adjustment costs. The TCB Committee would help coordinate technical assistance to U.S., regional and multilateral organizations to help Panama meet its obligations under the free trade agreement. Strengthening intellectual property rights (IPRs) was a major U.S. priority, including harmonizing standards at the U.S. level and ensuring Panama`s commitment to a series of international agreements on the protection of intellectual property rights.