Andean trade bloc orders Colombia, Ecuador to lift trade curbs
QUITO, May 8 (Reuters) – The Andean Community trade bloc ordered Colombia and Ecuador to lift all measures restricting trade between the two countries, the entity said late on Thursday.
The Community ruled on requests from both nations after Ecuador raised tariffs on imports from Colombia to 100%, prompting a retaliatory response from Colombia, which imposed phased tariff hikes of up to 75% on some goods.
The multilateral body gave the two countries 10 business days to withdraw the measures in place.
Earlier this year, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa imposed tariffs on Colombian imports, including electricity and medicines. He eventually raising tariffs to 100% as of May 1, arguing that his neighbor was not doing enough to combat drug trafficking along their roughly 586-km (364 miles) shared border and citing a wide trade deficit.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro rejected the accusations. His government responded by suspending electricity exports and last week formalizing differentiated tariffs of 35%, 50% and 75% on around 190 Ecuadorian products.
Colombia’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ecuador’s foreign ministry said it was analyzing the resolution.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia and Nelson Bocanegra; Editing by Susan Fenton, Chizu Nomiyama and Daina Beth Solomon)
