On January 11, the plenary session of the National Assembly began a debate on the report of the Assembly’s Committee on International Relations, submitted on January 3, recommending the approval of the trade agreement between Ecuador and China, signed in May 2023. However, after the intervention of several lawmakers, the session was terminated and apparently to date there have been no votes for the contract to pass the legislature and enter into force.

Given the situation, arguments for and against the agreement have been presented these days from various sectors. One of the last is the one presented by seven former ministers of foreign trade and industry from previous governments who support the approval of the agreement in the Assembly. Juan Carlos Cassinelli, Eduardo Egas, Jorge Illingworth, Daniel Legarda, Julio José Prado, Iván Ontaneda and Francisco Rivadeneira, signed a document expressing their support for the agreement “because it is positive for the interests of the country”.

Adoption of a free trade agreement with China is at risk due to a lack of votes, putting the government and its allies in trouble

The former ministers called on the National Assembly to give priority to the country’s interests and put political criteria aside, to analyze the text of the agreement in detail according to the technical criteria that enables the ratification of this important agreement in the shortest possible time.

In addition, they asked the national government and its various government portfolios to deepen the dissemination of information, content and benefits of the country’s trade agreements, including the recently signed one with the People’s Republic of China.

Former ministers have experience in trade agreement processes. For example, the agreement with China was signed during the period when Julio José Prado was Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries in the government of Guillermo Lasso; and received a positive verdict from the Constitutional Court under the supervision of Daniel Legarda in the Ministry, on November 1, 2023, in the last days of Laso’s presidency. Meanwhile, Eduardo Egas, Juan Carlos Cassinelli, Francisco Rivadeneira and Jorge Illingworth were part of different parts of the process that culminated in the signing of the agreement with the European Union that entered into force on January 1, 2017.

The Constitutional Court has approved a trade agreement between Ecuador and China and is asking the executive to send it to the National Assembly as soon as it takes office

Ontaneda, for his part, made extraordinary efforts to achieve the signing of the first phase of the agreement with the United States.

Meanwhile, former ministers noted that the deal with China will increase and diversify exports, improve industrial competitiveness through improved access to raw materials, inputs and capital goods, and protect sensitive sectors through exclusions and deadlines.

Meanwhile, regarding one of the arguments put forward by groups opposed to the agreement to recommend not accepting the agreement, environmental protection, the former ministers pointed out that environmental regulations are included in the agreement, as stated in Annex 1, where the capacity of the state is expressly recognized to maintain and increase “measures related to environmental protection, preservation of natural resources and production factors, and food security and sovereignty”.