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Foreign ministers from Colombia and Ecuador met this week in an effort to de-escalate a trade war that could trigger reciprocal 30% tariffs beginning Sunday, February 1.
The diplomatic push, led by Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio and her Ecuadorian counterpart Gabriela Sommerfeld, took place on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum in Panama. The conversation focused on setting the groundwork for a possible summit between Presidents Gustavo Petro and Daniel Noboa to resolve differences over border security and commerce.
According to reporting by El Tiempo, Secretary General of the Andean Community (CAN) Gonzalo Gutiérrez Reinel said that Sommerfeld described the conversation with Villavicencio as ‘very productive’ and expressed optimism that a resolution could be reached before the deadline.
Andean Community warns Colombia and Ecuador over looming tariffs
The CAN, a regional bloc that includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, has positioned itself as a mediator to protect the decades-old free trade zone. Gutiérrez Reinel warned that the imposition of such tariffs would set a “very negative precedent” and mark a significant “step backward” for the integration of the four-member group.
Gutiérrez Reinel stated, ‘It is a very negative precedent because we have the Cartagena Agreement and a free trade zone already for decades… It is a regression of that backbone that is the Andean Community.“
If the 30% tariffs are implemented as scheduled this Sunday, the CAN’s General Secretariat will initiate its dispute resolution mechanism. This process would formally evaluate whether the trade barriers constitute a violation of the bloc’s agreements.
Gutiérrez Reinel emphasized that security and public order issues should be handled through dialogue, separate from commercial interests.
Broader Integration Efforts
The trade war between Colombia and Ecuador comes as regional leaders call for greater economic integration. Currently, intra-community trade among CAN members accounts for only 6% of their total commerce.
To address this, the bloc is advancing projects like “Intercom,” a digital system designed to eliminate physical trade documents and facilitate real-time exchange. Colombia has been noted as one of the most dynamic participants in this transition. Additionally, the CAN is working toward an integrated electricity market for its four members, a project that Chile also aspires to join.
Gutiérrez Reinel also touched upon the shifting political landscape of the region. He noted that while the potential return of Venezuela to the bloc, which it left in 1973, is a possibility following the exit of Nicolás Maduro, such a move remains “premature” and would require a unanimous political decision by the current four member states.