Once the agreement takes effect, Canada will have free trade agreements with every country along South America’s Pacific coast.
The Canada-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement has been signed, setting the stage for lower tariffs and expanded market access between the two countries once the agreement enters into force.
Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, and Ecuador’s Minister of Production, Foreign Trade and Investments, Luis Jaramillo, signed the agreement in Ottawa on July 24, 2026.
Two-way merchandise trade between Canada and Ecuador reached CAD$2 billion in 2025, a 2.9% increase over the previous year, making Ecuador Canada's sixth-largest merchandise trading partner in South America.
Canada imports products including cocoa, bananas, shrimp, fresh-cut flowers, petroleum oils, and precious metals from Ecuador, while Canadian exports include cereals, mineral fuels and oils, vegetables, and fertilizers.
The agreement is not yet in force. Canada and Ecuador must first complete their respective domestic ratification procedures before its preferential tariff treatment can take effect.
Once fully implemented, Ecuador will remove duties on 97.2% of tariff lines, covering effectively all Canadian goods entering the country. According to Global Affairs Canada, Ecuador's average applied tariff is 6.8%, more than double Canada's 3.2%.
Canadian industrial exports will receive significant tariff relief. More than 89% of industrial tariff lines will become duty-free when the agreement enters into force, with remaining tariffs phased out over periods of up to 10 years.
The agreement also provides preferential tariff treatment for Canadian agricultural products, including grains and oilseeds, cereals, meat, pulses, processed foods, and sugar-containing products.
For a limited number of sensitive products, however, Ecuador committed only to tariff rate quotas (TRQs) and partial duty eliminations rather than full tariff removal. Canada did not provide additional market access for supply-managed dairy, poultry, or egg products.
On the Ecuadorian side, the agreement will allow 99.6% of its exportable goods to enter Canada duty-free once implemented, covering more than 600 products.
Beyond tariff reductions, the agreement covers a broad range of trade-related areas, including services, investment, digital trade, labour, environmental provisions, Indigenous Peoples, and dispute settlement.
Cole International offers trade consulting and customs brokerage services to help Canadian businesses prepare for changing tariff treatment and customs requirements under new trade agreements.
Reach out to one of our trade professionals to discuss how the Canada-Ecuador Free Trade Agreement could affect your imports and duty obligations once it enters into force.
