ACHIEVING RECIPROCAL TRADE: Today, President Donald J. Trump announced a trade deal to deepen bilateral trade and investment cooperation in the U.S. – Ecuador bilateral relationship that will provide Americans with increased market access in Ecuador while bolstering U.S. national and economic security.
- The Agreement on Reciprocal Trade will help U.S. farmers, ranchers, fishers, small businesses, and manufacturers to increase U.S. exports and expand business opportunities, and help reduce the goods trade deficit with Ecuador.
- U.S. goods and services exports to Ecuador reached $10.2 billion in 2024, and the agreement will substantially facilitate increased opportunities for U.S. exporters.
GROUNDBREAKING TERMS: The Agreement includes new terms to expand preferential market access, particularly for America’s agricultural exporters, while also lowering tariff and non-tariff barriers. The key terms of the U.S.-Ecuador Agreement on Reciprocal Trade include:
- Addressing Tariff Barriers: Ecuador will remove or decrease a range of tariff barriers across key goods sectors. Ecuador has committed to provide the United States preferential treatment for more than 90 percent of its agricultural schedule, including tariff elimination for soybeans, fresh and processed fruit, alcoholic beverages, and tree and ground nuts, as well as for certain dairy, beef, pork, and poultry products. In addition, Ecuador will no longer apply the Andean Price Band System to agricultural goods imported from the United States. These actions will create commercially meaningful market access opportunities for U.S. exports, supporting high-quality American jobs.
- Breaking Down Non-Tariff Barriers for U.S. Industrial Exports: Ecuador will address a range of non-tariff barriers, including by streamlining regulatory requirements and approvals for U.S. exports, such as: (1) accepting remanufactured goods from the United States; (2) accepting vehicles and automotive parts built to U.S. motor vehicle safety and emissions standards; (3) accepting U.S. medical devices marketed in the United States, and Medical Device Single Audit Program audit reports or certificates for medical device manufacturing facilities; and (4) accepting U.S. pharmaceutical products marketed in the United States, and surveillance findings by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for U.S. manufacturing facilities in the United States.
- Advancing Trade Facilitation: Ecuador will continue to advance trade facilitation measures, including by ending pre-shipment inspection mandates, establishing contingency plans for its Single Window, and expanding the Authorized Economic Operator program to include express delivery carriers within three months of entry into force of the Agreement.
- Breaking Down Non-Tariff Barriers for U.S. Agriculture Exports: Ecuador is reforming its import licensing system, including by establishing an automatic renewal process for import licenses of U.S. agricultural products. Ecuador will recognize the U.S. meat and dairy food safety system and accept U.S. certificates, reducing onerous facility registration barriers to U.S. agriculture exports.
- Preventing Barriers for Digital Trade: Ecuador will prevent barriers to services and digital trade with the United States, and refrain from imposing discriminatory digital service taxes. Ecuador will support a permanent multilateral moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions.
- Geographical Indications (GIs) and Market Access: Ecuador has committed to groundbreaking provisions that will preserve current and future U.S. market access for U.S. cheese and meat producers who rely on the use of common names. This includes ensuring that market access will not be restricted due to the mere use of certain cheese and meat terms, including asiago, feta, fontina, gorgonzola, gruyere, parmesan, black forest ham, prosciutto, salami, and others. Ecuador has also committed to only protect legitimate GIs and to robust standards for transparency and fairness regarding their protection.
- Protecting and Enforcing Intellectual Property: Ecuador has made commitments that will benefit American innovators and creators by enhancing intellectual property protection and prioritizing enforcement against intellectual property theft, including moving forward with a number of key international intellectual property treaties. Ecuador is also taking steps to resolve many long-standing intellectual property issues identified in USTR’s Special 301 Report.
- Strengthening Labor Protections: Ecuador has committed to protect internationally recognized labor rights. Ecuador will, among other commitments, adopt and implement a prohibition on the importation of goods produced by forced or compulsory labor; reduce the minimum number of workers needed to form a union; permit and protect the formation and registration of sectoral-level trade unions; regulate the use of non-standard contracts for core enterprise tasks; and strengthen enforcement of its labor laws.
- Strengthening Environmental Protections: Ecuador has committed to adopt and maintain high levels of environmental protection and to effectively enforce its environmental laws. Ecuador has also committed to take measures to improve forest sector governance and combat illegal logging; encourage a more resource efficient economy; fully implement the obligations of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies; strengthen enforcement of its fisheries-related measures; and combat illegal wildlife trade.
- Strengthening Economic Security Alignment: The United States and Ecuador are committed to strengthening economic and national security cooperation and enhancing supply chain resilience and innovation through complementary actions to address non-market policies as well as combatting duty evasion and cooperating on investment security and export controls.
THE PROSPEROUS PATH FORWARD: In the coming weeks, the United States and Ecuador will undertake applicable domestic procedures in advance of the Agreement entering into force, in order to lock in benefits for American businesses and workers.
- Total two-way trade in goods and services with Ecuador was approximately $90.4 billion in 2024.
- As a result of this deal, the United States will provide Most Favored Nation (MFN)-tariff treatment to Ecuador for certain qualifying goods from Ecuador that cannot be grown, mined, or naturally produced in the United States, by the later of August 1, 2026, or entry into force of the Agreement.
LIBERATING AMERICA FROM UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES: Since Day One, President Trump challenged the assumption that American workers and businesses must tolerate unfair trade practices that have disadvantaged them for decades and contributed to our historic trade deficit.
- President Trump continues to advance the interests of the American people and our agricultural sector by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers and expanding market access for American exporters.
- Today’s announcement provides a tangible path forward with Ecuador that underscores the President’s dedication to bringing balanced, reciprocal trade with an important trading partner.
