The U.S. on March 13 announced the signing of an agreement on reciprocal trade with Ecuador.
According to a fact sheet from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, under this agreement the U.S. will provide most-favored-nation tariff treatment to certain qualifying goods from Ecuador that cannot be grown, mined, or naturally produced in the U.S. USTR said it will take this step by the later of Aug. 1 or the agreement’s entry into force. Details of covered products are included in the annexes to the agreement text referenced above.
Ecuador, in turn, has agreed to the following.
- providing the U.S. preferential treatment for more than 90 percent of its agricultural schedule, including tariff elimination for soybeans, fresh and processed fruit, alcoholic beverages, and tree and ground nuts as well as certain dairy, beef, pork, and poultry products
- if necessary, establishing rules of origin to ensure the benefits of this agreement do not accrue substantially to third countries or third-country nationals
- when the U.S. imposes a customs duty, quota, prohibition, fee, charge, or other import restriction on a good or service, regulating the importation of that good or service into its territory through measures having a similar effect to address common economic and national security concerns
- streamlining regulatory requirements and approvals for U.S. exports, such as (1) accepting remanufactured goods from the U.S., (2) accepting vehicles and automotive parts built to U.S. motor vehicle safety and emissions standards, (3) accepting U.S. medical devices marketed in the U.S. as well as Medical Device Single Audit Program audit reports or certificates for medical device manufacturing facilities, and (4) accepting U.S. pharmaceutical products marketed in the U.S. as well as surveillance findings by the Food and Drug Administration for U.S. manufacturing facilities in the U.S.
- ending pre-shipment inspection mandates for imports from the U.S., establishing contingency plans for its single window, and expanding the authorized economic operator program to include express delivery carriers
- implementing and maintaining customs electronic systems and internal regulations that allow for full pre-arrival processing, paperless trade, and digitized procedures for the cross-border movement of goods from the U.S.
- reforming its import licensing system for U.S. agricultural products
- preventing barriers to services and digital trade with the U.S. and refraining from imposing discriminatory digital service taxes
- preserving current and future market access for U.S. cheese and meat producers that rely on the use of common names
- enhancing intellectual property protection, prioritizing enforcement against IP theft, and taking steps to resolve many longstanding IP issues identified in USTR’s annual Special 301 report
- adopting and implementing a prohibition on the importation of goods produced by forced or compulsory labor
- taking measures to combat illegal logging, strengthening enforcement of its fisheries-related measures, and combating illegal wildlife trade
- strengthening economic and national security cooperation with the U.S. and enhancing supply chain resilience and innovation through complementary actions to address non-market policies as well as combatting duty evasion and cooperating on investment security and export controls
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