The blockade was set up to demand the removal of tariffs amid the trade crisis between the two countries.

Vehicle traffic resumed this Friday after the removal of containers and barricades erected by truckers and merchants on the Colombian side, allowing the flow of people and goods to restart.

“Today we lift this blockade with our heads held high. We do so with the peace of mind that comes from having defended with dignity the work, the economy, and the future of our border,” Oscar Obando, president of the Ipiales border workers’ union, said in an interview with Ecuadorian media.

With the reopening, hundreds of cars and trucks are once again crossing between Tulcán (Ecuador) and Ipiales (Colombia), in an effort to recover the affected commercial activity. From Ecuador, the transportation sector highlighted the reopening of the border crossing.

The lifting of the blockade occurred despite the lack of consensus following recent talks between the two countries, which maintains uncertainty among the productive sectors.

Currently, Ecuador applies a 50% tariff to Colombian imports, and Bogotá announced a similar tariff for a group of Ecuadorian products.

In this context, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister, Gabriela Sommerfeld, asserted that there is political will to overcome the crisis, although she acknowledged that agreements have not yet been reached.

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