Government of Ecuador says that the signing of the FTA with China will increase exports to 35%

The Ecuadorian Government announced that progress towards signing a Free Trade Agreement with China is satisfactory.

In this context, the Foreign Trade Committee (Comex) will begin the dialogues and negotiations for the possible signing of a trade agreement between the two countries.

The agency issued a prior favorable opinion, ordering the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries to start the first negotiations on Tuesday, April 5.

This ministry must work in constant coordination with other ministries and public entities that participate in the process so that China and Ecuador consolidate an FTA.

The Comex ordered that the Ministry of Production report to the plenary of this body on the progress of the procedures and make a quarterly report on the progress regarding the fiscal impact generated on the results of the process of this negotiation.

This approval was obtained, in the first instance, during the visit of President Guillermo Lasso to China, on February 6, where the Chinese Minister of Commerce, Wang Wentao, and the representative of the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade and Investments of Ecuador, Julio José Prado, signed the memorandum that marked the beginning of the bilateral talks.

China is the second most important strategic partner for Ecuador, so, in the event of a treaty, exports to China could grow up to 35%, according to estimates by the Ecuadorian Government.

This is a significant improvement, considering that in 2021 alone the trade between the two countries was approximately USD 11 billion.

That is why for Minister Julio José Prado, the Free Trade Agreement would expand the export market by nearly USD 1,000 million in new opportunities to introduce products such as shrimp, minerals, wood and various manufactures to the Chinese country, without also dismissing , the surplus of goods that Ecuador currently cannot place in Russia and Ukraine due to the developing conflict.

However, these negotiations are part of a process that could take an indefinite period of time, so the country will still have to pay for the economic losses.