Ecuador to impose 100% tariffs on Colombian imports; Petro recalls ambassador
Ecuador will impose 100% tariffs on imports from Colombia starting May 1, a move that drew an immediate response from Bogotá as President Gustavo Petro recalled his ambassador from Quito and denounced the decision as a “monstrosity.” The steps mark a sharp escalation in a diplomatic and trade dispute that has steadily widened in recent months.
Ecuador’s Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade and Investment said the tariff hike responds to what it described as Colombia’s failure to take concrete measures against drug trafficking and organized crime along the shared frontier. “It is not possible to reach agreements with someone who does not have the same commitment to fighting narco-terrorism,” President Daniel Noboa said Thursday night.
He also said violent deaths on Ecuador’s northern border have fallen by 33% since a recent measure was taken. Petro, writing on X, ordered the immediate return of Colombia’s ambassador and called for a cabinet meeting at the border between the two countries. Defending his government’s anti-drug strategy, he argued Colombia has seized unprecedented quantities of cocaine.
The standoff has already disrupted regional cooperation. Ecuador’s foreign minister, Gabriela Sommerfeld, said negotiations between the two countries within the Andean Community of Nations are suspended. Tensions have also been inflamed by Petro’s recent comments about former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas—whom he called a “political prisoner” and to whom Colombia granted nationality.
Glas is serving corruption sentences in Ecuador, and his 2024 capture inside the Mexican embassy in Quito led to a break in diplomatic relations following the raid. Ecuador maintains its trade tightening is part of a broader security push along the roughly 373-mile border, where authorities say networks linked to drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal mining operate.
The government estimates these security efforts require about $400 million in additional spending. Colombia has responded with reciprocal measures, including tariffs on Ecuadorian goods and suspending electricity sales to Ecuador, which in 2024 faced power outages lasting up to 14 hours per day.
Business groups in Colombia have urged de-escalation, while companies in Ecuador’s pharmaceutical and cosmetics sectors report supply disruptions tied to restrictions on Colombian imports, according to local media. The economic stakes are substantial. In 2025, Colombia exported $1.846 billion in goods to Ecuador, making it Colombia’s sixth-largest trading partner and the second-largest destination for its non-mining, non-energy exports.
Ecuador sent about $857 million in goods to Colombia, leaving a trade balance historically favorable to Bogotá. With Quito’s tariff plan set to take effect on May 1 and Andean Community talks on hold, both governments appear to be hardening their positions, raising concerns in both countries about the cost of a prolonged rupture in trade and diplomacy.