In the free trade agreement that Mexico is negotiating with Ecuador, shrimp is not included, so aquaculturists must be calm, said Senator Rubén Rocha Moya.
He said he was investigating the concern that Sinaloa fish farmers showed, so the information they sent him is that neither that crustacean nor the sardine or tuna.
“It is a false alarm, I already have all the information, the issue of shrimp is not included for the free trade agreement with Ecuador, do not worry the shrimp is not included,” he said.
The senator said that to enter the free trade agreement of Asia Pacific, Ecuador is obliged to have a trade agreement with another country, therefore began negotiations with Mexico to get this deal with this nation and cover the requirement but to the country of Northwestern South America is not of primary interest to be exporting products to this Mexican nation.
Mexico in negotiations for an FTA with Ecuador
The main Mexican products sold are cars and corn; The best-selling goods in Ecuador are petroleum oils and cocoa.
Mexico and Ecuador will hold the first round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two in October, Rafael Nava, coordinator of Technical Barriers to Trade for all trade agreements of the National Confederation of Industrial Chambers (Concamin) reported.
“There is political will on both sides and the private sectors of Mexico and Ecuador are in favor of this FTA at 90%,” he said.
Ecuador grants tariff advantages to all imports from other members of the Andean Community (CAN-Bolivia, Colombia and Peru), provided they comply with the rules of origin, and grants similar treatment to imports from Venezuela.
The average preferential tariff that Ecuador has negotiated in the different agreements varies substantially, as does the coverage of preferences.
On the one hand, the average tariff applied for some of these business partners is relatively low, between 0 and 1% in the case of agreements with Argentina, Brazil, and Chile; For such agreements, the number of franchised lines exceeds 90 percent.
On the other hand, in the case of the agreement with Mexico, the number of franchised lines does not reach 40% and the preferential tariff (11.7%) is just below the average MFN tariff (12.2 percent).
In 2018, Mexican exports of products to Ecuador totaled 715 million dollars, and Ecuadorian sales to Mexico amounted to 192 million dollars.
While the main products exported by Mexico in this relationship were automobiles, medicines, trucks, food preparations, televisions, and corn, the best-selling goods in Ecuador corresponded to petroleum oils, cocoa, palm oil, sardine, and palm kernel oil.
In parallel, Ecuador seeks to advance its process to become part of the Associated State of the Pacific Alliance. One of the requirements to be a member is that a country must have free trade agreements with all other member countries.
Broadly speaking, the Pacific Alliance was created when the heads of state of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru signed a presidential declaration for the Pacific Alliance in 2011, now known as the Lima Declaration. The objectives are to build an area of deep economic integration and gradually move towards the free movement of goods, services, capitals, and people.
At the beginning of last July, in that perspective, Ecuador was welcomed as a new Candidate for the Associated State of the Pacific Alliance, with a view to its future membership as a full member. In general, there are negotiation plans with several countries in Latin America in the trade negotiations agenda of Ecuador. In some cases, new regional trade agreements are included and, for certain processes, it seeks an extension of the existing coverage for both goods and services.
About Costa Rica, he conducted a joint study for the start of negotiations. There are conversations between the trade authorities to establish the beginning of the negotiation process and its respective road map.
Regarding Guatemala, Ecuador already has a Partial Scope Agreement and is in negotiations to improve preferential access for a new limited list of products. With the Dominican Republic, the trade authorities are in talks to establish a road map that leads to the establishment of negotiations between the two countries.
Additionally, Ecuador has conversations with the Eurasian Economic Union, the United States, Panama, Dominican Republic, Canada, and Japan to begin negotiations aimed at the signing of trade agreements. Within that framework, meetings have been held and actions agreed in the short term, prior to the start of any negotiation process.
Source: el economista, linea directa
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