LatinNews Daily - 25 February 2026

*Colombia’s ministry of trade, industry, and tourism has issued a decree bringing into force the 30% tariff on 73 imports from Ecuador which was announced on 25 January. This comes amid a trade war which erupted last month when Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa announced a 30% ‘security tax’ on Colombian imports due to the country’s alleged failure to police its side of the shared border. As well as the reciprocal tariffs which came into force yesterday, Colombia has also suspended electricity imports to Ecuador, which in turn has raised the price charged for transporting Colombian oil through the Ecuadorean pipeline system. The president of Ecuador’s federation of exporters (Fedexpor), Xavier Rosales, was yesterday cited by national daily El Universo as calling for diplomatic talks to end the trade war, saying that some Ecuadorean companies make up to 60% of their revenue from exports to Colombia and will be unable to replace the Colombian market in the short-term.