Bogotá, Apr 10 (EFE).- Colombia will raise tariffs on Ecuadorian imports from 30% to 100% in response to its neighbor’s decision to increase the “security tax” imposed by President Daniel Noboa’s administration from 50% to 100%, marking a new escalation in the trade war between the two countries.
Colombia’s Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism, Diana Marcela Morales, stated on Friday that the decision was made after the government “exhausted all diplomatic efforts and kept channels of dialogue open with the Ecuadorian government.”
»However, we have not received a positive response; on the contrary, President Noboa’s administration has announced a hardening of its stance,» Morales added in a statement in which she said that Colombia decided to match import tariffs.
For Colombia, Ecuador’s decision distorts the competitive and market conditions between the two countries, which has a negative impact on domestic producers competing in the neighboring nation’s market.
For this reason, the government had already filed a complaint against the Ecuadorian tariffs with the Andean Community (CAN), arguing that they violate the 1969 Cartagena Agreement, which established this regional integration mechanism.
Colombia’s exports to Ecuador totaled 1.8 billion dollars in 2025, while imports from that country amounted to 830 million, resulting in a trade surplus of nearly one billion dollars for Colombia, according to data from the National Foreign Trade Association (Analdex).
The trade war between Colombia and Ecuador, which had a long and solid trade relationship, began with Noboa’s imposition of 30% tariffs on February 1 and 50% tariffs effective March 1.
The Ecuadorian president alleged that Colombia is not doing enough regarding security along the 586-kilometer shared border, where organized crime gangs operate.
In this regard, Noboa stated on Thursday, as he raised tariffs to 100%, that agreements cannot be reached with a government that does not share “the same commitment” to fighting drug trafficking and organized crime, in reference to Colombia.
The latest escalation in the trade war comes days after Colombian President Gustavo Petro asserted that former Vice President Jorge Glas is a “political prisoner,”a statement Noboa labeled an “attack on sovereignty,” prompting him to recall Ecuador’s ambassador in Bogotá for consultations.
The Colombian president responded on Thursday by ordering his ambassador in Quito, María Antonia Velasco, to “return immediately” to Bogotá.
Glas is being held at the maximum-security prison in El Encuentro, where he is serving an eight-year sentence for bribery and criminal association and another 13-year sentence for embezzlement of public funds.
The former vice president was recaptured two years ago, when Noboa ordered a raid on the Mexican Embassy in Quito after the Mexican government had granted him diplomatic asylum, considering him a political prisoner. EFE
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