Ecuador hopes to conclude ten trade agreements with American and Asian nations in the next three years
Manta, MANABÍ
Sustainable oceanic economy and environmental protection and conservation are part of the axes analyzed this Thursday, December 2 in Manta, the city where the fifth regional forum on tuna sustainability is held.
Ricardo Herrera, executive of the Ecuadorian Chamber of Tuna Industries and Processors (CEIPA), pointed out as fundamental and key to sustain strategies that help to protect the seabed, the sustainability of the entire fishing process, amid calls and commitments to that.
The export of the fishing sector meant to Ecuador in 2020 an income of 1,600 million dollars. Between January and September of this year, the sales of the Ecuadorian fishing sector to other nations of the world reached 1,350 million dollars, and of that figure only the export of tuna was for 950 million dollars of income for the country , according to Julio José Prado, Minister of Production and Foreign Trade.
The Secretary of State, who was at the regional meeting, said that in these exports the country has recovered notably in relation to 2020, and foresaw improvements for this sector by announcing that in the coming years Ecuador could sign up to ten trade agreements with nations of the American and Asian continent.
“Opening Ecuador to the world, within the export strategies and opening markets, the first trade agreement that we are on the verge of closing is with Mexico, we are in the last stages of negotiation and we hope to have good news in the coming months. The next commercial agreement is with the Pacific Alliance, it is an agreement that brings together Peru, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and soon Ecuador, and that opens the Asian market to continue exporting ”, declared Prado.
Then, following these strategies of joining commercial alliances with other nations, they seek to finalize agreements with Canada, the United States, Panama and the Dominican Republic, and they have already initiated contacts through diplomacy to enter into commercialization negotiations with markets in Korea, Russia and China.
The European Union will evaluate Ecuador’s progress towards the withdrawal of the yellow card on tuna fishing
Prado acknowledged that on the issue of trade agreements with the United States there are delays of about fifteen years, despite the fact that that nation is one of Ecuador’s main partners, it did not join as the other countries of the Pacific basin did, which they already have an agreement with that North American nation.
“We are already working in two ways, first to preserve the General System of Preferences, it is very important to be able to ratify and renew it, and the next issue is to be able to have a long-term trade agreement with the United States, we are advancing in phases that have been implemented , and the first phase agreement with the United States is already being executed and we will sign a second phase agreement in the first months of next year to get closer to that long-term agreement ”, confirmed the minister.
An issue that the Ecuadorian Government still has pending is the one related to the yellow card that the European Union issued two years ago, for alleged irregularities and illegal fishing of tuna.
Prado indicated that Ecuador will not fall further into this issue and ruled out the possibility of the European Union sanctioning the country with a red card. He pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the mobilization of international inspectorates to our country so that they know the progress that has been made within the process of catching tuna; But now they hope that in 2022 they can have the visit of these officials from multilateral organizations.
The official acknowledged that the biggest problem that has been had and that has led precisely to the yellow card is a lack of work from the public sector and that disarticulation between public sector organizations, and the lack of technical budget capacity to advance is what has generated this yellow card for the sector.
He added that there was a failure in the ability to have efficient governments that allow not to fall into these problems that affect one of the most important sectors of the economy.
“Exactly two years ago and in ancestor governments, fisheries control has been neglected, all issues that have to do with traceability in the fisheries sector have been neglected, and what has affected is the lack of enforcement capacity in the public sector, to be able to do tests, to be able to demonstrate to multilateral organizations and to the entire world that Ecuador does have sustainable fishing, that is what has failed, ”Prado declared. (I)
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