Daily coverage from across the country, written for the expat community
Results for “colombia”Clear
Resolution 2582 declares both countries' tariffs incompatible with the Cartagena Agreement. But with rates still at 75%, business leaders on both sides say trade remains frozen.
Ecuador is burning through diesel at a 23% faster rate to keep the lights on. Diesel prices jumped from .11 to .45 per gallon. And the government just failed — for the second time — to secure emergency thermal generation contracts.
Without Colombian electricity and an unreliable Coca Codo Sinclair plant, Ecuador's grid operator projects rolling blackout risk during the October-March dry season. The government is scrambling to rent diesel generators.
After months of escalating tariffs, Ecuador will reduce duties on Colombian imports from 100% to 75%. Cosmetics, medicines, plastics, and automotive parts are the primary categories affected.
Ecuador's tariff on Colombian goods jumps from 50% to 100% on May 1, effectively shutting down $2 billion in annual trade. Truck traffic at Rumichaca has already dropped to 30-40% of normal. Sugar, medical supplies, and medications are all on the list.
The math: 30 years of contributions at minimum wage gets you $361/month. Forty years gets you the full $482. IESS uses your five best earning years, not your last salary. Here's the complete breakdown.
A Sunday afternoon hailstorm dumped 40+ cm of ice on Ecuador's northernmost city. Neighborhoods across southern Tulcán flooded, two landslides closed the E-35 highway, and emergency crews are still clearing damage.
Ecuador is investing USD 3 million in a new 24,000 m² Naval Station at Posorja, deploying coast guard, marine infantry, and naval aviation across the approaches to Guayaquil's export ports. Operational by 2027, possibly late 2026.
President Noboa ratified the SECA trade agreement with South Korea via Decreto Ejecutivo 359 on April 15, two days after the Asamblea approved it 83 votes. The deal eliminates tariffs on 98.9% of Ecuadorian exports to a 51-million-consumer market. Shrimp goes to 0% immediately. Bananas phase out over five years. Here's what's in it.
Bilateral trade between Ecuador and Colombia fell 44% year-over-year in February 2026, the first month of the tariff war — to just $124.9 million. Ecuadorian imports from Colombia dropped 66%. Exports fell 20%. Pharma imports collapsed 34%, industrial chemicals 48%, and Rumichaca's transport hub has ground to a halt.
New numbers from Colombia's DIAN show Colombian exports to Ecuador fell 27% in January–February 2026 as Ecuador's security-tariff regime ramped up. Between February and March, the fall steepened to 57%. Ecuador's tariff escalates again on May 1 — from 50% to 100%. Here's the picture and what it means for consumer prices.
Economy Minister Sariha Moya presented Ecuador's fiscal efficiency formula at the IMF Spring Meetings in Washington on April 14. Her headline numbers: international reserves up from $3 billion to $11 billion, poverty down from 28% to 21% in 2025, and local-government payment delays cut by 85%. She credited the fuel subsidy phase-out that ran from June 2024 through September 2025.
