Ecuador announces 27% tariffs on products from Mexico, in the middle of a commercial storm with the US.

Ecuador will impose 27% of duty to the imported products from Mexicoas Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced Monday, in a context of commercial tensions with the United States in the face of Donald Trump’s threats to tax Mexican imports.

Ecuador He had tried from the previous government to negotiate a commercial agreement with Mexico, a necessary step to integrate the Pacific Alliance block, without reaching a final approach. The negotiations reached up to 99% progress, but were suspended by decision of the administration of then President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The announcement of the Ecuadorian government arrives on the same day that Mexico managed to postpone the application of 25% tariffs by the United States.

The AP requested comments to the Mexican government without obtaining immediate response.

Relations between the two countries broke last year following the incursion of the Ecuadorian Police in the Mexican embassy in Quito to stop former vice president Jorge Glas, who had taken refuge there to avoid justice for a corruption case.

In his X account, before Twitter, Daniel Noboa announced the imposition of tariffs on imports from Mexico and said that “Ecuador has always been open to commercial integration, but not when there is abuse”, in reference to the demands raised in its moment by the Mexican government in the negotiations of the commercial agreement.

Noboa said he maintains his willingness to sign a free trade agreement with Mexico, but “until that happens and is a reality, we will apply a 27% tariff to the products we import.” And he added that such a decision is made “with the aim of promoting our industry and that there is just our producers.”

The message of the Ecuadorian ruler was published together with statistics in which Noboa shows the deficit trade balance for Ecuador with Mexico in recent years.

From January to November last year, Ecuador imported goods for 573 million dollars, but exported 337 million, according to figures from the Central Bank, which gives a negative balance of 26 million dollars.

Ecuador exports about 320 products such as cocoa, palm oil, processed fish, non -electric machinery, sweets and chocolate, tubes and iron and steel profiles, while from Mexico it matters especially mechanical devices, pharmaceutical products, machines, vehicles, machines and devices electric and cosmetics, among others.