The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petrocalled the 100% tariffs announced Thursday by Ecuador against Colombian imports such as “a monstrosity”, and raised the possibility of his country withdrawing from the Andean Pact.
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petrocalled the 100% tariffs announced Thursday by Ecuador against Colombian imports such as “a monstrosity”, and raised the possibility of his country withdrawing from the Andean Pact.
“This is simply a monstrosity but it means the end of the Andean Pact for Colombia. We do nothing there anymore“said the leftist president on the social network Andean Community of Nations (CAN), an integration mechanism that completes Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.
LOOK HERE: Ecuador will raise tariffs on Colombia from 50% to 100% and the trade war intensifies
Ecuador called its ambassador in Colombia on Wednesday, after comments from Petro, who described it as a “political prisoner” to the former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas.
The government’s decision Daniel Noboa “means the end of Andean Pact for Colombia. We do nothing there anymore“added Petro, who considers it necessary for his country’s diplomacy to aim to join the Mercosura South American trading bloc of which Colombia is not yet a full member, but only an associate state.
In the midst of the diplomatic crisis, delegations from both countries have been holding negotiations since March with the mediation of the DOG.
The Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Gabriela Sommerfeldtold reporters Thursday that the talks “have been suspended (…) until the right environment is found”.
Ecuador claims that the tax is necessary because it must invest around 400 million additional dollars to protect the common border of about 600 kilometers. Organized crime groups dedicated to drug trafficking, illegal mining and human trafficking operate in the area.
Colombia has responded with a 50% tariff on Ecuadorian imports and by refusing to sell energy to Ecuador, which in 2024 suffered blackouts of up to 14 hours a day.
With the tax, Ecuador “seeks to reinforce co-responsibility” in the tasks for “confront the presence of drug trafficking on the border“added the Ecuadorian Commerce portfolio.
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