The National Customs Service of Ecuador (Senae) made official the increase from 50% to 100% of tariffs on Colombian imports starting next May 1, a new chapter in the trade war between Quito and Bogotá initiated by the Ecuadorian president, Daniel Noboa, to pressure Colombia to reinforce security on the border.
On its social networks, Senae indicated that it informed Foreign Trade operators of the increase in the so-called “security rate” for merchandise of Colombian origin and origin.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries announced that this rate will be raised “after verifying the lack of implementation of concrete and effective measures regarding border security by Colombia.”
We inform Foreign Trade Operators that, through Resolution No. SENAE-SENAE-2026-0031-RE, the security rate is increased from 50% to 100% for merchandise of Colombian origin and origin.
The Resolution will come into force as of May 1, 2026. pic.twitter.com/R7RZM4yNZh— National Customs Service of Ecuador (@SENAE_Aduana) April 10, 2026
“This measure is based on national security criteria and seeks to reinforce co-responsibility in a task that must be assumed jointly to confront the presence of drug trafficking on the border,” he said.
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, called Ecuador’s decision a “monstrosity” and considered that this “means the end of the Andean Pact (sic) for Colombia.”
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Noboa’s decision to pressure Colombia to reinforce security occurred the same week in which there was an escalation of tensions after Petro described Jorge Glas, the former vice president of former ruler Rafael Correa (2007-2017), who is serving sentences for corruption in Ecuador’s maximum security prison, as a “political prisoner.”
“‘Security’ rate They think we are stupid. The only ‘security’ is that they will destroy (the border province of) Carchi and that Ecuador will lose greatly due to the tantrums of a rich and capricious child,” said Correa this Friday in
The trade war between Colombia and Ecuador, two countries with a long and solid commercial relationship, began last January with the announcement of the imposition of 30% tariffs from February 1, which were subsequently raised to 50% from March 1.
After two months of trade war, last week, the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries indicated that Ecuador registered a trade surplus with Colombia of 62.9 million dollars “for the first time in more than 25 years.”
The tariff escalation was accompanied by other reciprocal sanctions.
Colombia closed its land border to the entry of a series of Ecuadorian products, including rice and bananas, the star fruit of Ecuador’s exports.
Colombia also cut off the electrical interconnection with Ecuador, which responded with an increase from $3 to $30 in the price per barrel for transporting oil from the Colombian state-owned Ecopetrol through one of its main pipelines.
