Ecuador Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in ecuador, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Trade Agreements
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Ecuador has various trade-related agreements with different countries and groups of countries. Ecuador is a member of the Andean Community (CAN) with Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia (1969), and joined the Comprehensive Trade Agreement with the European Union (2017). Additionally, Ecuador has a preferential trade agreement with Guatemala (2013).

Ecuador has free trade agreements (FTAs) with Canada (2025, provisionally applied pending legislative approval), Costa Rica (2024), the People’s Republic of China (2024), Chile (2022), the United Kingdom (2021), and the European Free Trade Association (2020), which includes Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland. Ecuador is a member of the Andean Community with Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia, and joined in January 2017 the Comprehensive Trade Agreement with the European Union. Ecuador has entered into free trade agreements with Chile, the United Kingdom, and the European Free Trade Association (2020), which includes Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland. Ecuador successfully negotiated free trade agreements with Costa Rica and the People’s Republic of China in 2023, with the two agreements pending final passage in the National Assembly.

In 1990, the United States and Ecuador signed the Trade and Investment Council Agreement (TIC). The two governments updated the TIC in December 2020 by signing the Protocol on Trade Rules and Transparency. The Protocol entered into force in August 2021 following National Assembly ratification. The agreement updates the TIC with new annexes in four areas: Trade Facilitation and Customs Administration, Good Regulatory Practices, Anti-Corruption, and SMEs.

Learn more about the U.S.-Ecuador Trade Facilitation Protocol and U.S. Free Trade Agreements in general.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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