Ecuadorian government spokesperson Carolina Jaramillo stated that this agreement “positions Ecuador at the heart of the Asia-Pacific region, granting us preferential access to the twelfth largest economy in the world.”

The official emphasized that emblematic products such as coffee, cocoa, chocolate, bananas, fish, dairy products, among others, will enter tariff-free or with tariff reductions within a very short period of time.

“In the long term, non-oil exports to South Korea are expected to grow by 27 percent,” the spokesperson stated, assuring that sensitive national sectors such as textiles, metalworking, and white goods were protected during the negotiations.

The treaty, called the Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement (SECA), was pre-signed on October 10, 2023, in Seoul, following the closing of negotiations in April of that year.

Ecuador’s Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment, and Fisheries, Luis Alberto Jaramillo, will sign the treaty in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, this Tuesday.

With this deal, 98 percent of Ecuador’s exportable products will enter the South Korean market with tariff benefits.

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