Quito. Negotiations on a free trade agreement between Ecuador and Canada are progressing. At an Ecuador-Canadian Chamber of Commerce Guayaquil event in Quito last Wednesday, Canadian Ambassador Stephen Porter announced that negotiations were 50% complete.
After the conclusion of what is now the third round of virtual negotiations, bilateral relations are “at their peak,” said Porter. Ecuadorian Vice Minister for Foreign Trade Hommero Larrear expressed confidence that the free trade agreement with the North American country will be concluded, but at the same time admitted that the most complicated negotiations still lie ahead.
Negotiations began in April 2023 and are scheduled to continue between October 21 and 25 in Quito. The talks in Ottawa are scheduled to conclude with a fifth round in December. According to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Economy, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries, no specific economic sectors are being discussed in the current phase of the talks, but they are currently working on “identifying the interests of each party and agreeing on the next steps that will allow us to “to move towards balanced outcomes for both countries.”
Environmentalists and indigenous associations criticize the agreement. They fear that oil exploration and mining in the Amazon region by foreign companies will increase. Canada is already the largest foreign investor in Ecuador. Over the past five years, the volume of foreign direct investment has tripled, reaching $4.4 billion in 2023, particularly in the area of raw material exports.
In this context, critics are concerned about the announcements by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa to promote further investment in this sector. Noboa attended the world’s largest mining industry gathering in Toronto in March. Criticism also comes from animal food producers. They fear that the elimination of tariffs will mean they will no longer be competitive with Canadian products due to higher raw material and production costs.
Supporters of the agreement expect up to 40,000 jobs in the export sector. Excluding crude oil, Canada is the eighth largest buyer of Ecuadorian exports. According to official information, more than 2,000 products will benefit from a tariff reduction as a result of the trade agreement. In addition to gold and crude oil, cocoa, shrimp and roses are among the most important exports to North America.
