BERLIN: A trade agreement reached last year between Ecuador and the European Union could come into full effect by September 2016, once all necessary procedures are completed, the EU’s representative in Ecuador, Peter Schwaiger, said Monday.
The EU is the main market for Ecuador’s non-oil exports and the third-largest market for manufacturing exports.
Last year, Ecuador exported to the EU goods valued at about $2.98 billion while the South American’s imports from there totaled approximately $3.02 billion. Ecuadorean exporters expect an increase of at least $500 million per year when the trade deal takes effect.
Ecuador and the EU signed an agreement last December that allowed the Andean country to join its neighbors, Colombia and Peru, in the multiparty trade pact that both countries completed in 2013. Peru and Colombia should give their consent to the inclusion of Ecuador in the agreement.
Mr. Schwaiger said that Colombian and Peruvian officials will meet in Bogota in June to examine the inclusion of Ecuador. He said that Colombia and Peru had so far not expressed any concerns about including Ecuador.
We have explained to Colombia and Peru that the agreement with Ecuador is fully compatible with the one that we have with them,” Mr. Schwaiger said. “There is nothing in this agreement that harms Colombia or Peru, although Ecuador has, in some parts, more favorable conditions. Also Ecuador, in some parts, gives us more benefits.”
The deal between Ecuador and the EU must be approved by several Ecuador institutions, including the National Assembly. It also must be approved by the European parliament and the legislatures of the 28 EU member countries, in a process that will take several months, starting in August or September this year.
Last December, the European Parliament approved the extension of tariff preferences that the block grants to Ecuador, a measure that will last until it comes to operating the multiparty agreement. About 60% of Ecuadorean exports benefit from those preferences.
According to the exporters, about 30% of Ecuador’s non-oil exports go to the EU, mainly Spain, Holland, Germany and Belgium.
Ecuador exports bananas, shrimp, cocoa, tuna and roses, and other products to the EU.
