Tariff hikes and diplomatic tensions deepen rift between longtime trading partners.
On Thursday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered his ambassador to Quito, Maria Antonia Velasco, to “come immediately” to Bogota, following Ecuador’s decision to raise tariffs on imports from his country from 50% to 100% starting May 1.
The trade war between Colombia and Ecuador, two countries with a long and strong commercial relationship, began with the imposition of 30% tariffs by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who argued that Colombia was not doing enough on security along the shared border where organized crime groups operate.
In an implicit reference to Colombia, Noboa said it is not possible to reach agreements with a government that does not have “the same commitment” to fighting drug trafficking and organized crime.
In response, Petro said: “The Ecuadorian president insults the Colombian government, which has seized more cocaine than at any time in world history.”
“More than 200,000 Colombians have been killed by drug trafficking, including my fellow activists. More than 15,000 Colombian police officers have been killed fighting drug trafficking since the war on drugs was declared. Mr. Noboa, respect those dead,” Petro said.
Escalation of the Trade War
The latest escalation of the trade dispute comes days after Petro said that former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas is a “political prisoner,” a statement Noboa described as an “attack on sovereignty,” prompting him to recall Ecuador’s ambassador to Bogota for consultations.
On Wednesday, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld said that technical meetings between the two countries, scheduled for next week to seek an agreement on tariffs, were suspended until “a suitable environment and goodwill” for dialogue can be found.
Colombia and Ecuador share a 586-kilometer border and have traditionally been trading partners, with trade in recent years hovering around US$2.8 billion, with a negative balance for Ecuador of about US$900 million.
The trade dispute initiated by Ecuador, which is experiencing the worst violence crisis in its history triggered by criminal organizations, was compounded last month by diplomatic tensions following the appearance of an unexploded bomb in Colombian territory, allegedly dropped during a bombing by Ecuadorian Armed Forces in their fight against drug trafficking.
Petro accused Ecuador of bombing Colombia, which was later ruled out by a binational commission that determined the bomb crossed into Colombian territory due to a possible rebound after failing to explode at the Ecuadorian site where it was dropped.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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