Ecuador’s trade agreement with Costa Rica is moving forward after a number of constitutional objections were rectified. For this purpose, in the previous days, in cooperation with that Central American country, we opened the investment chapter and modified certain topics to align with the observations. It is now expected that the Constitutional Court can verify this compliance and that the new convocation of the Assembly can approve the Agreement. Additionally, the Court must inform the Ministry of Trade about the constitutionality of the Trade Agreement with China in the coming days. In the meantime, the Agreement with Korea, which has already been pre-signed, is in the translation phase. This is the current situation of the three most recent initiatives that this government has implemented and will soon be implemented, in the middle of the government transition process.
This was explained by the Minister of Production and Foreign Trade, Daniel Legarda, in connection with the event organized by this State Portfolio entitled Competitiveness in Ecuador (Production and Foreign Trade Agreements), which sought to discuss the need for state policies in line with the development and the competitiveness of the country to be maintained despite changes of governments.
During the event, Legarda highlighted as one of his greatest achievements the possibility for Ecuador to make an unprecedented qualitative leap in the coverage of customs benefits for its products. So, when this government started, 38% of products were covered by customs privileges. In the meantime, when the agreements with Costa Rica and China (which are at the Constitutional Court) and the one with Korea, which is in the pre-signing stage, are finalized, coverage of 61% of preferences will be achieved. In addition, there are other agreements initiated with Panama, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the Pacific Alliance and even the United States (the entry of the IDEA law), which would make it possible to cover 85% of the supply that is not intended for oil export. by preferences., which makes it more competitive.
The Minister said that the Agreement from Costa Rica has reached 97% of the export supply with tariff preferences, most of the preferences will take effect immediately. Costa Rica is a strategic destination for Ecuador in terms of regional positioning.
On the other hand, the entry into force of the China Agreement will mean that 99.6% of products will have preferential access. Some of them will do it immediately. China is a large market with 1.4 billion consumers. Regarding South Korea, Legarda pointed out that it is one of the broadest and most modern agreements signed by that country.
The event was an example that it is possible to build national and not only governmental policies, at least in the commercial sphere. This morning, several foreign trade ministers from the three governments shared their views on the country’s main challenges and progress on this issue. Daniel Legarda, the current Minister of Production and Foreign Trade, participated in the panel; Julio José Prado, who was minister of the same portfolio between 2021 and 2023; Iván Ontaneda (2019-2021) and Francisco Rivadeneira (2013-2015). Former minister Juan Carlos Cassinelli was also present, but virtually.
In addition, Sonsoles García, who is the virtual minister of the sector in the new government of Daniel Noboa, was also present from the public.
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During the event, Legarda recognized businessmen and representatives of fair trade in Ecuador, as well as the ambassadors of the USA, Costa Rica, Guatemala, the United Kingdom, the European Union and China, who supported a series of commercial initiatives that were carried out. trade.
He also presented a number of methodological tools that, he said, will help the process continue in the future.
He also highlighted a number of milestones achieved in the administration of President Guillermo Lasso. Among them, the implementation of the national competitiveness strategy through a strong tariff reform that enabled the benefit of 180 million dollars for the manufacturing sectors. This goes hand in hand with the reduction of customs duties in 667 subheadings.
In addition, technical regulations that did not make sense were put out of force and work was being done to change others that had to be harmonized with international standards.
300 contracts with investment commitments of about $9,000 million have also been signed and, he said, are expected to reach the end of the administration in the coming weeks with a total of $10,000 million. Among other things, the initiative of productive clusters was implemented, for which about 725,000 USD of grants were spent. Among the main ones are forestry, logistics, oilseeds, plastic industry, dairying, hemp, great food and creative industries.
Source: Eluniverso
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