ACHIEVING RECIPROCAL TRADE: Today, President Donald J. Trump announced a trade deal that will provide Americans with increased market access in Ecuador. The United States and the Republic of Ecuador (Ecuador) agreed to a Framework for an Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, which will strengthen American exporters’ access to Ecuador’s market while bolstering U.S. national and economic security.
- The Agreement on Reciprocal Trade will help U.S. farmers, ranchers, fishers, small businesses, and manufacturers to increase U.S. exports and expand business opportunities, and help reduce the goods trade deficit with Ecuador.
- U.S. goods and services exports to Ecuador reached $10.2 billion in 2024, and the agreement will substantially facilitate increased opportunities for U.S. exporters.
GROUNDBREAKING TERMS: The Framework includes new terms to expand preferential market access, particularly for America’s agricultural exporters, while also lowering tariff and non-tariff barriers. The key terms of the U.S.-Ecuador Agreement on Reciprocal Trade will include:
- Addressing Tariff Barriers: Ecuador will remove or decrease a range of tariff barriers across key goods sectors, including tree nuts, fresh fruit, pulses, wheat, wine, and distilled spirits, and fully eliminate a variable tariff on many agricultural products it had imposed through the Andean Price Band System. These actions will create commercially meaningful market access opportunities for U.S. exports, supporting high-quality American jobs.
- Breaking Down Non-Tariff Barriers for U.S. Agriculture Exports: Ecuador is reforming its import licensing and facility registration systems for food and agricultural products to enhance transparency and predictability and reduce onerous barriers to U.S. agriculture exports. Ecuador has also committed to ensuring that market access will not be restricted due to the mere use of certain cheese and meat terms, including fontina, gruyere, mozzarella, parmesan, provolone, black forest ham, prosciutto, salami, and others.
- Breaking Down Non-Tariff Barriers for U.S. Industrial Exports: Ecuador will address a range of non-tariff barriers, including by streamlining regulatory requirements and approvals for U.S. exports, such as: (1) accepting remanufactured goods from the United States; (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 United States, and Medical Device Single Audit Program audit reports or certificates for medical device manufacturing facilities; and (4) accepting U.S. pharmaceutical products marketed in the United States, and surveillance findings by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for U.S. manufacturing facilities in the United States.
- Advancing Trade Facilitation: Ecuador will continue to advance trade facilitation measures, including by ending pre-shipment inspection mandates, establishing contingency plans for its Single Window, and expanding the Authorized Economic Operator program to include express delivery carriers within three months.
- Preventing Barriers for Digital Trade: Ecuador will prevent barriers to services and digital trade with the United States, and refrain from imposing discriminatory digital service taxes. Ecuador will support a permanent multilateral moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions.
- Protecting and Enforcing Intellectual Property: Ecuador has committed to ensure transparency and fairness regarding geographical indications and to address issues identified in the 2025 Special 301 Report, including enhancing cooperation among enforcement agencies, providing ex officio authority for border enforcement, and criminalizing unauthorized camcording.
- Strengthening Labor Protections: Ecuador has committed to protect internationally recognized labor rights and strengthen enforcement of its labor laws. In addition, Ecuador will adopt and implement a prohibition on the importation of goods produced by forced or compulsory labor.
- Strengthening Environmental Protections: Ecuador has committed to adopt and maintain high levels of environmental protection and to effectively enforce its environmental laws. Ecuador has also committed to take measures to improve forest sector governance and combat illegal logging; encourage a more resource efficient economy; fully implement the obligations of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies; strengthen enforcement of its fisheries-related measures; and combat illegal wildlife trade.
- Strengthening Economic Security Alignment: The United States and Ecuador are committed to strengthening economic and national security cooperation 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.
THE PROSPEROUS PATH FORWARD: The United States and Ecuador are working to finalize the Agreement to lock in benefits for American businesses and workers. Total two-way trade in goods and services with Ecuador amounted to approximately $90.4 billion in 2024.
- As a result of this deal, the United States will provide Most Favored Nation (MFN)-tariff treatment to Ecuador for certain qualifying goods from Ecuador that cannot be grown, mined, or naturally produced in the United States.
LIBERATING AMERICA FROM UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES: Since Day One, President Trump challenged the assumption that American workers and businesses must tolerate unfair trade practices that have disadvantaged them for decades and contributed to our historic trade deficit.
- On April 2, President Trump declared a national emergency in response to the unprecedented threat caused to the United States by the large and persistent trade deficit caused by a lack of reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships, disparate tariff rates and non-tariff barriers, and U.S. trading partners’ economic policies that suppress domestic wages and consumption.
- President Trump continues to advance the interests of the American people and our agricultural sector by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers and expanding market access for American exporters.
- Today’s announcement provides a tangible path forward with Ecuador that underscores the President’s dedication to bringing balanced, reciprocal trade with an important trading partner.
