* Ecuador’s minister of production, foreign trade, investment and fishing,
Julio José Prado, has said that a trade agreement with Mexico is
“99% complete,” after more than three years of negotiations. A trade agreement with Mexico would enable Ecuador to join the Pacific Alliance trade bloc, as Ecuador already has trade agreements with the other member states – Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Progress has been slowed by Mexico’s reluctance to allow tariff-free entry of Ecuadorean bananas and shrimp – a matter that is still under dispute.
“It’s especially the shrimp that is causing the greatest disagreement,” Prado explained, although he said that both countries were moving towards a quota arrangement on bananas. He added that the phase of highly technical negotiations
“has finished” and said that Ecuador is now waiting for a
“political response” from the Mexican government.
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