Ecuador and Dominican Republic hold talks with a view to trade agreement

Minister Julio José Prado met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic and his team, in order to review the progress of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2020, which established a Joint Working Group to boost and promote trade, investment and productive linkages between the two countries, with a view to a future negotiation of a partial trade agreement.

Meetings were held with the Ministry of Industries, Commerce and Mypimes, Prodominicana; with the National Council of Free Zones and the Office of Agricultural Treaties, to address issues of bilateral interest.

In this line, Minister Prado presented Ecuador’s current trade policy to the productive sectors of the Caribbean country, with the presence of representatives of the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP); Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD); Dominican Association of Free Zones (ADOZONA); Dominican Association of Exporters (ADOEXPO); Chamber of Commerce and Production of Santo Domingo; Chamber of Commerce and Production of Santiago.

They discussed topics such as Ecuador’s trade agenda, investment attraction policy and how both economies can complement each other through possible productive linkages.

At the conclusion of the meetings, a visit was made to DP World Caucedo, to learn about the operation of its Free Trade Zones and the importance they can have for a potential implementation in Ecuador.

The port terminal commented that “during the visit, the Ecuadorian official learned in detail how DPWorld’s logistics ecosystem in the Dominican Republic is composed, the business units that make it up and the organization’s vision of contributing to the country becoming the most important logistics HUB in the Americas region. During the visit, the Minister and the delegation that accompanied him, appreciated the operations of DP World’s business units and how they work in a cohesive manner”.

With Dominican Republic, Ecuador historically maintains a positive trade balance, in 2021 non-oil exports to this destination reached USD 106 million, evidencing growth in 21.1% compared to the same period of 2020 (+USD18 million). The main export products were: raw tobacco, other metal manufactures, leather, plastic and rubber manufactures, vegetable extracts and oils, and natural flowers.

In 2021, according to the SENAE database, there are 448 Ecuadorian companies exporting to the Dominican Republic, and non-oil exports represent 99.9% of Ecuador’s total shipments to this destination.

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