After ten months and four rounds of negotiations, Ecuador and China successfully closed technical talks to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This was announced this Tuesday, January 3, by the President of the Republic, Guillermo Lasso, on his social networks.
“Good news to start 2023. The FTA negotiation between China and Ecuador has been successfully concluded. Our exports will have preferential access to the largest market in the world, our industries will be able to acquire machinery and inputs at lower costs,” said the president.
China is one of the countries with which Ecuador began talks in 2022 to sign trade agreements. Also in the negotiation process are South Korea, Mexico; and the start of talks with Canada is being explored. Meanwhile, negotiations with Costa Rica were closed.
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Following this announcement, it is expected that the signing of the FTA will take place after completion of the respective processes for formalizing the offers, translation and legal review, the date of which will be announced by both governments.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries recalled that this agreement began with the roadmap proposed by President Lasso during the official visit to Beijing in February 2022.
Currently, the joint trade between Ecuador and China exceeds $10,000 million, which is continuously strengthening and growing. Until the first half of 2022, the People’s Republic of China became Ecuador’s main non-oil trade partner. The deepening and expansion of trade, thanks to the trade agreement, will bring multiple benefits for both countries.
This agreement, which according to the regime will substantially improve the access of the Ecuadorian exportable offer to a market of more than 1,400 million consumers, focuses on the reduction of tariffs that allow access to markets and also includes various disciplines such as rules of origin, improvement of customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade defense, protocols for sanitary and phytosanitary measures, reduction of technical barriers to trade, cooperation for investment, promotion of electronic commerce, competition, transparency, dispute settlement and economic cooperation.
The entry into force of this trade agreement will allow preferential access for 99% of Ecuador’s current exports to China, highlighting mainly agricultural and agro-industrial products such as shrimp, bananas, roses and flowers, cocoa, coffee, among the main ones, but It will also open the doors for the export of non-traditional products, such as pitahaya, pineapple, mango, blueberries, quinoa, processed foods, fresh and canned fruits, and a large number of other agricultural and agro-industrial products.
The trade agreement with China has safeguarded sensitivities in the agricultural and industrial sectors, establishing a significant number of exclusions, particularly in the manufacturing field, as well as long periods of tax relief. On the other hand, tariff-free access to raw materials, inputs, tools and equipment reduces production costs for the Ecuadorian industry and will offer greater variety and quality for Ecuadorian consumers.
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The agreement also establishes mechanisms in the sanitary and phytosanitary field to streamline market access processes, and also provisions on trade defense and trade facilitation that empower the possibility of establishing measures to protect the Ecuadorian industry and a better exchange of information.
The productive sector actively participated in the negotiation through the attached room, providing inputs and information to strengthen the strategy of the negotiating team for the benefit of the country. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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