Canada will be ready to begin negotiations on a trade agreement with Ecuador in the next 90 days, in mid-March. This was announced this Wednesday afternoon, December 13, by Julio José Prado, former Minister of Manufacturing, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries, who cited a video on X (formerly Twitter) by Mary Ng, Canada’s Minister of International Trade, while briefing the Common Room of his country about the Government’s intention to sign an FTA with Ecuador.

“Green light to start negotiations in 90 days. We have been working for the last 2 years with a team from the Ministry of Production, the Embassy and the new commercial office in Canada to achieve this,” Prado announced in X. In November 2022, in Mexico, Minister Mary Ng and former Minister Prado met and agreed to begin research talks for a possible FTA between both nations. On January 6, 2023, Canada announced an internal consultation process.

Last week, the Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries, Sonsoles García, referred to this process managed by the previous government and announced that it will be one of the priorities of the President of the Republic, Daniel Nobo. He did so during the first official meeting with representatives of the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Quito (Camespa), where he assured that negotiations will continue in early 2024, with the projection that by the end of next year the agreement will be consolidated. agreement.

Trade agreements: negotiations with Canada will continue in early 2024

Last November, former minister Daniel Legarda indicated that the Canadian parliament was expected to approve the start of negotiations between January and February 2024. “It’s already been approved here,” Legarda said at the time.

According to ministry figures, Ecuador’s exports to Canada have grown by 22% annually over the past five years, placing the North American country among the top 20 export destinations in the non-oil country. Likewise, from 2017 to 2021, Canada was the top foreign investor in Ecuador, with foreign direct investment (FDI) of $739.4 million.