The US tariff preference system will be renewed in the coming months, says Deputy Minister Daniel Legarda | Economy | News

Ecuador will be again System General Preferences (SGP), Granted by the United States, in the coming months, noted Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, Daniel Legarda.

US Government Team – Under the Fourth Council on Trade and Investment with the United States (information and communication technology)– He told us that the renewal of customs preferences under the GSP will be implemented very soon. This is excellent news for exporters because just over 20% of non-oil shipments to the United States depend on this mechanism.” This renewal will have a retroactive effect and will be valid until 2025 most likely.

The Deputy Minister made this announcement In the framework of the fourth meeting of the Trade and Investment Council with the United States (TIC), that took place this Wednesday in Guayaquil. The board meeting was held from February 15-16.

A meeting between officials from the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment, and Fisheries (MPSIP) and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) They held technical tables in which they discussed various issues of bilateral interest: Agricultural, labor and environmental issues.

Legarda noted that three main aspects were preserved during the day. the first was Evaluation of what has been achieved so far to implement the Phase 1 protocol which is preserved with the North American country. In this sense, work was carried out on issues of environmental sustainability and the promotion of labor policy.

The second point is Civil Society Participationie, the participation of micro, small and medium enterprises, trade unions, environmental groups and syndicates. The third important point, Legarda said, is to define work for the coming months.

“There is an assessment We have to make technical teams around topics or disciplines that can be combined into what will be called the second protocol or the second phaseHe pointed to the deepening of trade and investment relations.

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In addition, he announced that a technical visit to Washington is scheduled for the second half of the year to clarify the issues that will be deepened in this final protocol.

Julio Jose Prado, Minister of Production. He indicated that he had been left Clear intention to reach a long-term agreement Given Ecuador’s compliance with the initial agreement, the possibility of moving to a new stage is being analyzed. We have emphasized the historical relationship between the two countries and that their balances are complementary. For this reason, we need a commercial agreement with our main partner.”

Prado also noted that a bill has been introduced in that country, aimed at strengthening trade relations.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador Jamie White, Deputy Trade Representative, They expressed the desire to continue technical dialogue and analyze ways of cooperation between the two countries, in accordance with the provisions of this ICT conference.

In the next few hours, the Office of the Special Representative and the Special Representative of the Trade Representatives will issue a joint statement detailing the progress and results achieved during the meeting. (I)