Coverage: where we ship the steel
Every destination has its own design code and its own tariff framework. Both are on this page, country by country, with the candour your customs broker will thank you for.
NewCon Steel ships profiles, panels and structural kits from its Panama City plant to Panama, Colombia, Central America (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua) and the Caribbean (Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Trinidad, Curaçao, Aruba), and supplies US and Canadian developers building in those markets.
Made in Panama, with certifiable Panamanian origin
This is the part that can be documented. Everything else is decided by the customs authority of your country, and we will tell you that from the quotation onward.
Our profiles are cold roll-formed in Panama from imported coil. That transformation changes the tariff heading of the goods — from flat-rolled product to structural section — and it is what supports Panamanian origin under the rules of origin of Panama's agreements in force. Origin comes from the forming, not from the coating: applying a protective coating is, by the express text of those agreements, an operation that does not confer origin.
In practice: we issue a Panamanian certificate of origin, and you claim from your own customs authority whatever preferential tariff treatment applies to you under the relevant agreement — if any applies at all. The final duty is always determined by the destination customs authority, based on its national tariff schedule, the applicable agreement and the classification of the goods.
That is why we work with your customs broker from the quotation stage, and can pursue an advance ruling on origin and classification for your project. It is the only document that turns this from an expectation into a certainty.
- Certifiable Panamanian origin, grounded in the cold forming performed in Panama
- Certificate of origin issued under the agreement applicable to your destination
- Preferential access subject to the tariff schedule and rules of origin of the destination country
- Advance ruling on origin and classification handled for you, when the project warrants it
How duty actually works — and how we handle it with your broker
No Panamanian regime can eliminate the duty charged by another country's customs authority. Tariff relief, where it exists, comes from the trade agreement and from the destination's rules of origin — not from where our plant happens to sit. Any supplier promising you duty-free entry into Central America or the Caribbean is promising something they do not control, and you will find that out on your first call with your customs broker. For the same reason, we do not quote DDP on the assumption of zero duty.
Design code and trade instrument, country by country
Two things change depending on where we ship: which code the structure is calculated against, and under which agreement the steel clears customs. Neither is negotiable with marketing.
| Destination | Governing design code | Trade instrument in force with Panama | Documents we issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panama | REP-2021 (JTIA), in force since 30 April 2023. Members designed to AISI S100-16 (R2020) w/S3-22 and AISI S240-20. | Domestic market: no import formalities | Mill certificate for the steel; sealed calculations when the scope includes them |
| Colombia | NSR-10 (Colombian Seismic-Resistant Construction Code) | Partial Scope Agreement. There is no Panama–Colombia FTA in force: the preference is limited to a closed list of products and must be verified heading by heading | Panamanian certificate of origin; tariff-heading verification with your customs broker |
| Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua | The country's national structural code; loads per ASCE/SEI 7-22 where the project adopts it | Central America–Panama FTA, with a bilateral protocol per country. Each protocol carries its own tariff phase-out annex and its own rules of origin | Panamanian certificate of origin under the applicable bilateral protocol |
| Dominican Republic | IBC in the edition adopted by the jurisdiction, with the edition of ASCE/SEI 7 that edition references — including its hurricane wind-speed maps and seismic parameters | Partial Scope Agreement, closed list of products | Panamanian certificate of origin; the preference depends on the heading being on the list |
| Trinidad and Tobago | IBC / ASCE 7 as adopted by the project's jurisdiction — confirm the adopted edition with the reviewing authority before design | Partial Scope Agreement in force since 4 July 2016, closed list of products | Panamanian certificate of origin; tariff heading verified in advance |
| Jamaica, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Aruba | IBC / ASCE 7 as adopted by the project's jurisdiction — the adopted edition, the wind-speed map and the local amendments differ island by island | No preferential trade agreement in force with Panama: the destination country's general tariff applies | Panamanian certificate of origin for the customs clearance |
National codes across Central America and the Caribbean vary by jurisdiction and by adopted edition, and so do the wind and seismic parameters that drive a cold-formed steel design. We confirm the applicable code with the reviewing engineer on your project before issuing calculations; we never assume one by default. Duty treatment, likewise, is decided by the customs authority of the destination — never by us — which is why every row above names the instrument in force rather than promising an outcome.
Why Panama instead of a transpacific crossing
These four advantages need no footnote. They are true without conditions, and they are what actually moves the landed cost of your structure.
Manufacturing in Panama means regional transit to Central America and the Caribbean: days, not weeks. No transpacific crossing, no exposure to long-haul freight, and no container already at sea by the time you catch the error.
It also means your counterpart is in your own time zone. When there is a clash to resolve, a thickness change or a claim to settle, the answer does not arrive at 3 a.m. from twelve time zones away.
- Regional transit from Panama: days, not weeks
- No full-container MOQ of the kind imposed by buying from Asia
- Engineering support in your time zone, in English and Spanish
- Certifiable Panamanian origin, with the certificate of origin issued by us
North American developers building in the region
If you are a US or Canadian developer with a project in the Caribbean or Central America, the problem is rarely the steel: it is the chain. Buying in Asia and shipping to an island adds a transpacific crossing, a full-container MOQ and a counterpart twelve time zones away from your site team.
NewCon Steel manufactures in Panama City, invoices in dollars, works in English and Spanish, and ships into the region with transit measured in days. The calculation package is verified against the code of the country where you are building — not against the code where the plant sits.
We hand you the Panamanian certificate of origin and, working with your customs broker, tell you exactly which preference applies to your island and which does not. Where entry is not duty-free, you hear it from us first — not from your broker after the fact.
From RFQ to dispatch
Scope and destination
Quantity, profile family and thickness, destination country and port, and the required on-site date. If you already have a customs broker appointed, give us the contact now.
24 business hoursFormal quotation
Scope of supply, documentation included and dispatch terms, in writing.
48 hClassification and origin
We verify the tariff heading and the agreement applicable to your destination together with your customs broker. Where the project warrants it, we pursue an advance ruling on origin and classification.
Production and bundling
Material is fabricated against the cut list, dimensionally checked, and bundled and identified by lot.
Dispatch and documentation
The shipment leaves with the mill certificate and the Panamanian certificate of origin, under the applicable agreement.
Ask for transit time and terms to your port
Tell us the country, the port or delivery point, and the Incoterm you want to compare against. We confirm it in writing in the quotation, within 48 hours — no transit figures invented over the phone.