Daily coverage from across the country, written for the expat community
Results for “customs”Clear
SENAE rolled back the duty-free alcohol allowance to three liters per traveler starting May 4. Nearly 700,000 liters entered duty-free in 2024, and the agency says informal commerce was the real beneficiary.
President Noboa presented Q1 2026 economic results in a national broadcast. Sales hit $63.2 billion (vs $57.7B Q1 2025). Country risk dropped from 1,908 bps a year ago to 416 today. Public investment jumped from $42M to $533M YoY. Here's what the government is claiming and what to actually take from it.
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.
Ecuador's Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries Minister Luis Alberto Jaramillo met with the Ecuadorian-American Chamber of Commerce in Guayaquil on April 14 to walk through the US Reciprocal Trade Agreement. Headline: 57% of non-oil exports get zero tariffs. Concerns: competition with subsidized US agricultural products.
Ecuador's April 9 imposition of a 100% tariff on Colombian products — targeting $2 billion in annual bilateral trade — has triggered the deepest institutional crisis the Comunidad Andina has faced in its 57-year existence. Former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe publicly warned Ipiales is "in ruin."
Police K-9 units intercepted nearly 22,000 dried shark fins weighing 1,905 kilograms at Guayaquil's Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport on April 2. The shipment -- 75 bundles disguised as fish bladders -- was bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is one of Ecuador's largest shark fin seizures in recent years.
The U.S. Trade Representative and Ecuador formalized a reciprocal trade deal covering approximately $2.786 billion in goods. U.S. beef tariffs will phase to zero over three years, pork tariffs are mostly eliminated, and Ecuador secures preferential treatment for over 90% of the U.S. agricultural schedule.
The United States and Ecuador formally signed their Agreement on Reciprocal Trade on March 13, 2026, cutting tariffs on 53% of non-oil exports worth $2.8 billion. Key sectors including bananas, shrimp, cocoa, coffee, and flowers get preferential access, while Ecuador eliminates its price band system on U.S. agricultural imports.
President Noboa's executive decree MDT.2026-059 allows employers to schedule 10-hour workdays within the existing 40-hour weekly cap. Unions were not consulted, and mass protests erupted on March 13 in Quito and Guayaquil. Noboa's approval rating has dropped to 38%.
Ecuador's 60-day state of emergency declared January 1 has been extended for an additional 30 days across nine provinces and three municipalities. With a record 9,000 homicides in 2025, President Noboa is doubling down on military deployments as the country remains in a declared state of 'internal armed conflict.'
Colombia suspended electricity sales to Ecuador and imposed retaliatory tariffs after Ecuador slapped a 30% 'security tariff' on Colombian goods. With Ecuador's grid 79% dependent on hydroelectric power, the loss of Colombian energy imports raises the specter of the devastating 2024 blackouts.
Since December 24, 2025, only the Rumichaca crossing (Colombia) and Huaquillas crossing (Peru) remain open for international land transit. All other border bridges are physically barricaded as part of the government's security strategy.
