QUITO: Ecuador said on Thursday it will raise tariffs on imports from Colombia to 100% from 50%, deepening a trade dispute between the Andean neighbors and adding to a diplomatic rift that has widened in recent days. The higher tariff is due to take effect on May 1, according to the government. Ecuador linked the move to what it said was Colombia’s failure to carry out effective border security measures, while Colombia has rejected Ecuador’s earlier accusations over cooperation and enforcement.
The latest increase marks the newest step in a conflict that has unfolded through this year. Ecuador first imposed a 30% tariff on Colombian goods in January, then announced in late February that it would raise that rate to 50% from March 1. The government has described the levy as a security related trade measure tied to costs along the shared border. Colombian goods have long held an important place in Ecuador’s import market, making the dispute significant for bilateral commerce.
Colombia responded to the earlier Ecuadorian measures with its own actions. Bogotá suspended electricity sales to Ecuador, banned certain food imports entering by land and imposed a 30% tariff on 20 products from Ecuador. Colombia’s commerce minister later said she would propose raising tariffs to 50% on 73 Ecuadorian tariff lines, subject to approval by the government’s trade authorities. The dispute has also extended beyond consumer and industrial goods into transport costs for Colombian crude moving through Ecuadorian infrastructure.
Trade Dispute Deepens
Both governments have taken their complaints to the Andean Community, the regional bloc that includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The case has drawn added attention because intraregional trade in the bloc has long been based on tariff free circulation for most goods, and manufactured products account for the large majority of trade within the group. The standoff between Ecuador and Colombia therefore affects not only bilateral relations, but also one of the region’s established trade frameworks.
The tariff escalation comes as political tensions between Quito and Bogotá have also sharpened. Ecuador this week recalled its ambassador to Colombia for consultations after remarks by Colombian President Gustavo Petro about former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, whose imprisonment has been a point of friction between the two governments. Ecuador’s foreign ministry said the comments amounted to interference in its internal affairs, while the recall added another layer to an already strained relationship between the neighboring states.
Diplomatic Tensions Rise
Ecuador has also suspended working groups that had been scheduled for next week on trade, energy and security cooperation with Colombia. Those meetings had been expected to address practical matters in a relationship already under pressure from border crime, cross border commerce and energy flows. The suspension means several formal channels for coordination are now paused at the same time that tariffs are rising and existing retaliatory measures remain in place on both sides of the border.
For Ecuador, the new 100% tariff sets a clear date for the next escalation in the dispute, with implementation scheduled for May 1 unless policy changes are announced before then. For Colombia, the measure adds to a list of restrictions and reprisals that have steadily accumulated since January. As of Thursday, the confirmed facts were a higher Ecuadorian tariff, Colombian countermeasures already in force, parallel complaints before the Andean Community and a diplomatic relationship under fresh strain. – By Content Syndication Services.