The Ecuadorian Government announced this Thursday the increase from March 1 from 30% to 50% of the so-called "security rate", a tariff that it imposes on imports from Colombia because it considers that that country has not implemented security measures in the border area.

First modification: 02/26/2026 - 14:30

"After verifying the lack of implementation of concrete and effective measures regarding border security by Colombia, Ecuador is obliged to adopt sovereign measures," the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade and Investment said in a statement.

For this reason, "as of March 1, the security rate on imports from Colombia will increase from 30% to 50%," he said.

He noted that this decision responds "to national security criteria, to strengthen co-responsibility in a task that must be joint: confronting the presence of drug trafficking on the border."

Ecuador had imposed a security rate of 30% since February 1 and last Tuesday Colombia applied the same measure to 23 consignments of Ecuadorian products.

The announcement came a day after the Foreign Minister of Ecuador, Gabriela Sommerfeld, assured that the Government "maintains dialogue" with Colombia through the respective embassies and direct contacts between authorities.

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The trade war between Ecuador and Colombia began last January when Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced the application of a 30% "security tax" on Colombian products from February 1, a measure that, as he explained, responded to the lack of firm actions by the neighboring country against criminal groups and drug trafficking.

In response, Colombia announced similar measures and began charging the same percentage on Ecuadorian products on Tuesday, a decision that covers 23 tariff items grouped into 73 subheadings corresponding to agricultural, food and industrial goods.

As a consequence, several products remain stored in warehouses in the city of Tulcán, capital of the province of Carchi, bordering Colombia, due to the neighboring country's prohibition on access by land.

The Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor), which this Tuesday urged the Executive to resume talks with the neighboring country, the tariffs impact approximately 5.25 million dollars in weekly exports to Colombia, which is equivalent to about a third of the total value that Ecuador sells to that market.

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