Ecuador and Mexico concluded the sixth round of negotiations for a trade agreement that would allow the former country to join the Pacific Alliance with "positive progress," the Ecuadorian Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries reported last Friday (21.01.2022/XNUMX/XNUMX).
In a statement, the government portfolio details that the Progress was made at both tabless summoned within the process.
These are the ones Market Access, which included products of bilateral interest and tariff reduction periods; and the Rules of Origin, which negotiated criteria according to which a product can be considered as originating in the other party and therefore benefit from the agreement's tariff reductions.
The meetings were attended by the Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries of Ecuador, Julio José Prado, and the Secretary of Economy of Mexico, Tatiana Clouthier; and the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, Luz María de la Mora Sánchez.
In order to consolidate the progress achieved, the negotiating teams from both sides plan to hold interim meetings and internal consultations, the official statement said.
Till the date The work of thirteen working groups has been successfully concluded bilateral and eight remain open, related to telecommunications, financial services, general services, trade defense, competition, intellectual property, market access and origin.
A new round of face-to-face negotiations is expected in March in Quito with which the Ecuadorian Executive hopes to conclude the negotiation.
The private sector of both countries participated in the negotiating rounds in order to "guarantee transparency in the process" with fifteen Ecuadorian representatives under the Fourth Productive Assistant modality, according to the Ministry of Production and Commerce.
The agreement with Mexico is crucial for Ecuador to be able to access the Pacific Alliance, the last door to open since the Andean country already has agreements with Chile, Peru and Colombia.- (Statement from the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries of Ecuador)
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