With 83 votes, the National Assembly approved the Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement (SECA) between Ecuador and South Korea, which includes 23 chapters with protection measures for specific sectors.
The votes for the approval of the agreement came from the National Democratic Agreement (ADN), Social Christian Party, formerly Pachakutik and independents. 57 legislators from the Citizen Revolution (RC) group spoke out against it.
In the plenary session of the Assembly, the favorable report issued by the Constitutional Court was known, which determined that the strategic economic cooperation agreement between the Republic of Ecuador and the Republic of South Korea meets the requirement of constitutional compatibility, enabling its legislative approval. That the agreement establishes clear and binding rules that provide legal certainty to the economic operators of both countries.
SECA opens a high-value market to Ecuador with potential for structural growth. The Republic of South Korea has a market of approximately 51 million people with a per capita income six times higher than Ecuador. 70% of its food demand is supplied with imports, which generates a favorable structural demand for Ecuador’s exportable supply of agricultural, fishing and agro-industrial products.
The exclusion of tariff lines and the safeguard mechanisms incorporated into the agreement guarantee that sensitive sectors such as dairy, rice, corn, proteins, animals, textiles and footwear have times and conditions for their progressive adaptation without compromising the stability of national production chains.
Ecuador currently faces tariffs of between 20 and 45% of its main export products to South Korea, losing share within this market without preferential access.
The impact of SECA on Ecuadorian non-oil exports is positive and projectable into the future. Proof of this was when the Republic of Korea temporarily liberalized tariffs on bananas in the years 2024 and 2025 without a preference of origin, which produced a tripling of Ecuadorian exports of that product to the Republic of Korea.
The economic cooperation and technological transparency component of the SECA adds strategic value to the agreement. The prioritized areas of agribusiness, aquaculture, energy, information technologies, health and MSMEs are relevant to Ecuador’s productive transformation objectives; Therefore, technical cooperation can contribute to productive modernization, the generation of added value and the reduction of structural competitiveness gaps.
The South Korean ambassador to Ecuador, Jae Hyun Shim, He highlighted that with this trade agreement, a 27% increase in non-oil exports from Ecuador to Korea is expected.
He highlighted that since 2000 his country has actively supported the economic and social development of Ecuador through cooperation actions for an approximate amount of $20 million annually.
He said that the Republic of Korea considers Ecuador as an important partner in Latin America and that through SECA, Ecuador is positioned as a strategic partner with a high-quality productive offer and great potential, driven by President Daniel Noboa’s vision of international opening.
The diplomat pointed out that the legislative decision is not only limited to the approval of a trade agreement, but also a decision that will open a new chapter in the relationship between South Korea and Ecuador. This agreement is the result of more than 10 years of work in more than 14 rounds of negotiations between officials from both countries, he noted.
Legislator Lucía Jaramillo (ADN), President of the International Relations Commission, rapporteur of the agreement report, pointed out that this is the first strategic cooperation agreement that Ecuador will sign with an Asia Pacific economy.
He highlighted that South Korea has a market of more than 51 million consumers with high purchasing power.
He explained that the agreement contains 23 chapters that cover: trade in goods and services, electronic commerce and intellectual property.
The agreement will allow 98.9% of the Ecuadorian economy’s exportable supply to reach South Korea with 0% tariffs and on some products immediately, such as shrimp, which currently pays a 20% tariff to enter Korea; while in other products such as bananas, which currently pay a 30% tariff to enter the Asian country, it will be gradually reduced over a period of five years.
Jaramillo said that this trade agreement not only talks about traditional products such as coffee, shrimp, bananas, cocoa, but also non-traditional products such as pitahaya, blueberries, guayusa, among others.
What South Korea offers are capital products and technological investment, highlighted the ADN legislator, that means that 88% of what is imported from the Asian country will be technology that will benefit the agricultural sector with cutting-edge technology that will include the use of drones for the productive sector.
Another sector that benefits from this agreement is the Korean automobile industry, as it currently pays a 40% tariff to enter the country, so with this agreement this tariff will be gradually reduced for up to fifteen years. That is to say, said Jaramillo, more vehicles will come to Ecuador with cutting-edge technology, friendly to the environment and even with systems that will prevent the driver from accidents.
The agreement was signed on September 25, 2025, but the National Assembly needed to ratify it.
Once the agreement is approved in Parliament, the document passes to the Executive, who must ratify the agreement. Once both countries approve the document internally, it will come into force. Currently, in Korea it is still under analysis in the Ministry of Agriculture, Finance and later in Parliament, and in terms of time that would mean at least four months. (YO)
