Manta, MANABI
The President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, announced this December 5 in Manta that Ecuador has already negotiated 99% of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Chinawhich will allow Ecuadorian products that are marketed with that Asian nation to enter that country, one of the main partners, without tariffs.
The president even announced that this December 14, when the China-LAC 2022 summit is held in Guayaquil, the technical memorandum of understanding would be signed before the final signing of this FTA with the Asian giant, and until now, according to Lasso, that goal is expected to be met.
“So that more Ecuadorian product enters China without tariffs, for example, the shrimp sector, which exports half of Ecuador’s shrimp production to China, half, which now, once we sign the Free Trade Agreement, will be sold without tariffs, producing a generous benefit for the Ecuadorian shrimp sector”, declared Lasso in the port of Manabita.
Julio José Prado, Minister of Production, Trade, Foreign Affairs, Investment and Fisheries, announced through its social networks last July that, in 2021, Ecuador exported products to China for $3,623 million.
Ecuador and China started the first round of negotiations for a FTA. Second and third round are expected for August and September
The president thanked China for all the help it has provided to Ecuador, including the contribution to purchase vaccines to combat COVID-19, indicating that 53% of the doses administered to Ecuadorians came from that nation, some of them even donated.
He said that some of these achievements were achieved after he visited China last February for the inauguration of that nation’s Winter Olympic Games, and where he held 40 minutes of dialogue with the president of that country, Xi Jinping.
He assured that everything requested has been fulfilled so far. For example, renegotiating Ecuador’s debt with China, which has already occurred and generated a cash flow of close to $1.4 billion.
“Then I told him: ‘some unscrupulous Ecuadorians along with another group of foreigners have used China to abuse Ecuador in terms of oil sales contracts, I need your support to renegotiate those contracts in terms of the price formula and the amount of oil pledged to China’, that has already been fulfilled, the contracts have been renegotiated, we have more oil available that we can sell to the market spotsLasso stated.
Free Trade Agreement with China would be signed by the end of the year, according to calculations by President Lasso
The president arrived in Manta to hand over the reconstruction works of the Eloy Alfaro airport in this city, severely affected after the earthquake on April 16, 2016. China granted a $27.7 million loan through the Chinese bank Eximbank for the rehabilitation from the air terminal.
Chen Guoyou, Chinese ambassador to Ecuador, He indicated that the two countries have shown mutual solidarity to solve problems in the face of adversity and that this aid has been strengthened over time.
“We will continue to strive to promote long-term and stable cooperation in various fields and continue to write a new chapter in the development of traditional friendship,” Guoyuo said. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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