By Alexandra Valencia
QUITO/BOGOTA, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Ecuador will increase tariffs on Colombian imports to 50% from the current 30% beginning March 1, the government said on Thursday, escalating a trade spat between the neighboring countries fueled by fears over border security.
Colombia said it was weighing its response and open to dialogue.
Ecuador slapped a 30% tariff on imports from Colombia in early February, citing the trade deficit and a lack of cooperation in combating drug trafficking along their shared border. President Daniel Noboa has made a hardline stance on crime a cornerstone of his administration, invoking extraordinary powers and expanding the role of the military.
Colombian authorities have maintained that they cooperate on fighting cartels that operate in both countries, citing joint operations that resulted in the seizure of drug shipments. Traffickers move cocaine produced in Colombia through Ecuador en route to the United States and Europe.
Ecuador’s government did not immediately respond to Reuters on whether the tariff would apply to electricity, a key import from Colombia during droughts when hydroelectric dams dry up. Colombia halted electricity sales to Ecuador after the initial tariff was imposed in January, banned certain overland food imports, and levied its own 30% tax on imports from its neighbor.
Shortly after the first tariffs, Ecuador increased its fee on Colombian crude transported through its SOTE pipeline by 900% to $30 per barrel, prompting Colombia to halt shipments.
Colombia’s trade minister Diana Marcela Morales told journalists on the sidelines of an event in the city of Cucuta that her country was open to “dialogue and diplomatic solutions,” adding that the country has to protect its exporters.
“We are reviewing other byproducts and other tariff subheadings on which to impose duties, but we have not yet made a decision to set them at 50 percent,” Morales said. “This is still under technical review.”
‘SECURITY FEE’
Ecuador’s production ministry described the latest tariff increase as a security fee “after noting Colombia’s failure to implement concrete and effective measures in the area of border security.”
“This decision is based on national security criteria to strengthen co-responsibility in a task that must be joint: confronting the presence of drug trafficking on the border,” a ministry statement added.
Colombia has repeatedly denied that it is failing to tackle drug smuggling.
Both countries have taken their claims to the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), a regional trade bloc.
Ecuador, which also imports significant quantities of medicines and pesticides from Colombia, logged a trade deficit with Colombia of $1.03 billion through 2025, according to government data, excluding oil.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also uses military operations to fight the drug trade but has emphasized social and economic programs, such as crop substitution initiatives for coca farmers.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Quito and Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by Sarah Morland, William Maclean, and David Gaffen)
