EFE
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The United States Government announced this Thursday an agreement with Ecuador to eliminate the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on the Andean country on some products, which began in April at 10% and increased to 15% since August.
The tariffs that the United States agrees to eliminate will be on certain qualified exports from Ecuador that cannot be produced or obtained naturally in the United States in sufficient quantities to supply its domestic consumption, as indicated by the White House in a statement.
These elements include bananas and cocoa, two of the main products in Ecuador’s export basket, as the Ecuadorian Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, Danilo Palacios, had already anticipated last month.
In exchange, the framework agreement contemplates that Ecuador reduce or eliminate tariffs in key sectors for the United States such as machinery, health products, information and communication technology (ICT) goods, chemicals, vehicle engines and certain agricultural products.
Likewise, Ecuador must evaluate how to eliminate what the United States calls “non-tariff barriers” considering that “they affect trade in priority areas.”
Among these “non-tariff barriers,” the White House indicated that Ecuador is reforming its import licensing and facility registration systems for food and agricultural products in order to improve transparency and predictability,” where it has committed to not restrict access “by the mere use of certain terms related to cheese and meat.”
Another commitment from Ecuador will be to eliminate pre-shipment inspection mandates, as well as adopt and implement “a prohibition on the importation of goods produced through forced or compulsory labor,” aimed at eventually affecting imports from mainly Asian countries.
Ecuador has also agreed not to impose taxes on digital services that discriminate against US companies and to support the adoption of a permanent moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
On the other hand, it will have to “fully implement the obligations of the WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, as well as “improve governance of the forest sector and combat illegal logging; promote a more efficient economy in the use of resources and combat the illegal trade in wildlife species.”
In 2024, Ecuador’s trade balance with the United States had a deficit of US$644.5 million, according to statistics from the Central Bank of Ecuador, registering exports worth US$7,024 million and imports worth US$7,668 million.
