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The agreement with the European Union excludes 91 sensitive agricultural products
Posted On 09 Nov 2016
Ecuador was able to exclude from the list of subheadings 91 agricultural commodities of European origin considered as sensitive. The main products of the list include cane molasses, fructose syrup, panela, frozen meats, hard corn, poultry eggs, beef, fresh cheese. Other products considered less sensitive will be able to enter Ecuador from the 28 countries that make up the European bloc with a combination of tariffs and tariff reduction periods.
The tax relief periods range from three, five, seven to ten years from the entry into force of the agreement. Even for seasonal agricultural products, such as citrus, the protection time is between five and ten years. Ecuador hopes that the document will be ratified on December after the European Parliament and the National Assembly approve it.
That same month, on December 31, the system of tariff preferences that the EU renewed to Ecuador in 2014 will expire, and 64% of Ecuador’s exportable supply to the European bloc benefits.
The agreement contains detailed provisions on the preferences Ecuador obtained, which differentiate it from that negotiated among the European Union and Colombia and Peru. According to the document, there are recognized trade asymmetries between the parties to the trade agreement.
