Ecuador is interested in being part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Treaty of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TIPAT) and in negotiating another nine Free Trade Agreements (FTA), reported Julio José Prado, Ecuador’s Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries.
Specifically, on September 28, 2021, Ecuador officially announced its interest in being part of the TIPAT.
Interviewed by El Economista, Prado indicated that the government of Ecuador intends to negotiate 10 FTAs during the current administration, which began last May and lasts four years.
“Ecuador is looking for 10 new trade agreements within the next four years, it is a very ambitious agenda and we are going to start with Mexico, it is the closest agreement we have, and in the next six months we hope to be full members of the Alianza del Pacific, to get closer to the Asian market ”, he commented.
Until now, Ecuador is a member of the Andean Community (CAN) and the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), and also has agreements with other Latin American countries and with the European Union.
“In Asia, we are looking for a trade agreement with Russia, South Korea and China, and also within what the President (Guillermo Lasso) established, which is to be able to join the TPP-11 (TIPAT); but within the TPP-11 we know that there are very high standards and it may be an issue that takes us more time to develop ”, said Prado.
The negotiations of the 10 FTAs referred to are with Mexico, the Pacific Alliance, the TIPAT, Canada, the United States, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Russia, South Korea and China.
“If we could choose which is our priority, obviously our main trading partner is, at the moment, the United States, our main destination for non-oil exports is the United States.
“However, we know that the political moment in the United States is not the easiest for a trade agreement; while China, Russia and Korea have expressed the will to move forward quickly over the next year with a trade agreement, “he pondered.
Without a doubt, according to Prado, with China it would be a more limited agreement, which considers several of the sensitivities that Ecuador has, especially industrial ones; but in line with what, for example, Costa Rica or Peru have already negotiated in the past, which would be the basis for negotiating.
“With the United States we are getting closer, looking for a suitable moment to be able to initiate this commercial agreement”, he added.
To solve these negotiations, the government of Ecuador has created an internal structure that allows it, within the Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries, to have the ability to create ad hoc negotiating teams, specially arranged for one purpose. “It is a very important change in a development model that seeks to create more opportunities for Ecuadorian companies, to Ecuadorian productive chains, and at the same time open Ecuador to the world.”
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx