Following a meeting in Quito without agreement on tariffs, Colombia announced it will sue Ecuador before the Andean Community of Nations for breaching the Cartagena Agreement. The foreign ministers of both countries discussed bilateral issues, but Ecuador refused to suspend the 30% tariff on Colombian products. Colombia will respond with its own tariffs for national security reasons.
The meeting between the delegations of Colombia and Ecuador took place this week in Quito, led by Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio and her Ecuadorian counterpart Gabriela Sommerfeld. The encounter focused on pending bilateral issues, including security, border control, energy, and trade, as reported by Ecuador's Foreign Ministry. Agreements were reached on security matters, but there was no consensus on the tariff issue, one of the most contentious points.
Ecuador imposed a 30% tariff on Colombian products since January, which Villavicencio requested to suspend. However, Ecuador's Foreign Ministry stated it would evaluate the request later. In response to this refusal, Colombia decided to proceed with retaliatory measures.
"In this situation, the Government of Colombia is forced to issue the decree of response tariffs for national security reasons, whose signing had been postponed awaiting more immediate agreements. Likewise, today the demand will be presented to the Andean Community of Nations for Ecuador's disregard of what was agreed in the Cartagena Agreement, signed on May 26, 1969", announced Colombia's Foreign Ministry in a statement.
Despite recent rapprochements between the two countries, the tariff dispute persists, affecting bilateral trade within the Andean integration framework.
