The second round is expected to be carried out next June virtually, just as the first round was carried out.
On May 8, Ecuador and Canada closed the first round of negotiations for a trade agreement that began virtually on April 29, announced the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries.
According to the State portfolio, in this first meeting the negotiating teams exchanged bilateral proposals for the texts of 20 disciplines that are included in the 28 chapters that this New Generation Agreement will contain.
Among the disciplines that were negotiated in this first round are: access to markets, rules of origin, sanitary measures and financial services, temporary entry of entrepreneurs, cross-border trade in services, digital trade, telecommunications, phytosanitary, gender, labor, environmental, good regulatory practices, transparency and anti-corruption, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), public procurement, public companies, development and administration of measures, technical barriers to trade, trade defense, and institutional affairs and dispute resolution
In addition, meetings were held between chief negotiators that made it possible to identify the progress and achievements obtained at each of the negotiation tables.
Finally, the objectives achieved within the framework of this first round were shared with the different representatives of the private sector, through the figure of the fourth deputy.
The negotiation of a trade agreement with Canada will allow greater insertion and diversification of Ecuadorian products and services in the Canadian market.
“During these days, the efforts of the Ecuadorian team focused on learning in detail about Canada's commercial expectations and its interests. In addition, Ecuador requested clarification of doubts and concerns about the different disciplines under negotiation with a view to positioning Ecuadorian interests,” the ministry explained.
According to figures from the Ecuadorian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce from 2019 to 2023, Ecuadorian exports to Canada grew by 325%, while imports grew by 113%.
“Historically, in recent years more has been imported than exported to Canada,” the union acknowledged.
In 2023, 589 million dollars were imported from Canada and Ecuador exported products worth 347 million dollars. Furthermore, exports to Canada are mainly agricultural products.
That same year, 38 million dollars in cocoa beans and 35 million dollars in roses and flowers were exported. Meanwhile, grains account for about 70% of Canada's total imports. Wheat is the main cereal that is imported: in 2023 around 285 million dollars were imported.
Furthermore, especially due to its importance, it sought to strengthen cooperation in all areas that are the subject of this negotiation, with the objective of working in favor of the national economy, through the generation of employment and new opportunities for the productive sector. Ecuadorian.
The second round of negotiations is scheduled for June, also in virtual mode.
