EU equipment and supplies will enter without restriction from validity of agreement

Machineries, spare parts, medicines, supplies and technology, will enter to the Ecuadorian market without restrictions the bilateral agreement with the European Union (EU) goes into effect, as announced by the Minister of Foreign Trade Francisco Rivadeneira.

Germany, for example, is one of the 28 countries of the community, that leads the suppliers list. According to figures from the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE for its Spanish acronym), $ 23’585.000 in medicines, $ 17’865.000 in diagnostic and laboratory reagents; $ 11’308.000 in medical and surgical instruments, and $ 7’962.000 in installments are imported from there.

EU countries also import equipment of English and French origin, which currently are admitted with a 5% tariff as capital goods to Ecuador.

Roberto Aspiazu, President of the Ecuadorian Business Committee (CEE for its Spanish acronym), noted that most of the machines that enter from the EU already have a very low tariff, which means that the agreement will not make most difference. Despite this, he assured that a decrease in prices will be experienced, which will benefit the industry.