LatinNews Daily - 04 January 2023

* Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso has announced that negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with China “have concluded successfully” after ten months of talks. Writing on Twitter, Lasso added that “our exports will have preferential access to the largest market in the world, our industries will be able to acquire machinery and inputs at reduced costs.” The FTA will still require the approval of the constitutional court and the national assembly before it comes into force. According to a statement from the ministry of production, foreign trade, investment and fishing (MPCEIP), the FTA “will allow preferential access for 99% of current exports from Ecuador to China,” with particular benefits for the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors. The MPCEIP also said that some tariffs would remain in order to protect Ecuador’s manufacturing sector, but added that “tariff-free access to raw materials, inputs and tools” would “reduce production costs for Ecuadorean industry”.

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