148 more Ecuadorian products will enter Guatemala with tariff preferences after expansion of trade agreement

The current agreement includes 614 products, 83 % of exports to this market; The extension seeks to reach 89 % with 150 additional products

Ecuador and Guatemala concluded the negotiations for the expansion and deepening of the commercial agreement in force between the two nations since 2013. In this way, Ecuador seeks to increase exports of their products to the Central American nation.

In order to enter the agreement, the Administrative Commission of the Agreement will present the result of the negotiations to both governments, in order to carry out the respective internal processes, in the perspective of ratifying it.

According to him Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries, The current agreement contemplates 614 products, which covered a 83 % of the total Ecuadorian exports to this market. With the first extension achieved, this percentage increases to 89 %. The bilateral commercial exchange in the 2017-2019 period reached $ 119 million average, while only Ecuadorian exports to this market registered an average value of $ 73 million.

Meanwhile, negotiations for this extension and deepening of the bilateral agreement culminated last September 3 and were based on the extension of tariff preferences for148 additional productsof sectors such as drinks, textiles and clothing, fruits and elaborate, confites, notebooks and paper,snacks, metalworking, among others; highlighting that the Central American destination represents an opportunity for exports of non -traditional products and with added value of the productive offer of Ecuador.

The negotiations were developed since 2019 and were resumed this year, under the context of the work of the technical tables of access to markets and origin of the two countries, led by the vice ministers of foreign trade in Ecuador and Guatemala, Daniel Legarda and Edith Flores, respectively.