Canada–Ecuador free trade agreement: what was signed and what it still needs to apply

What was signed

The agreement was signed in Ottawa by Maninder Sidhu, Canada’s Minister of International Trade, and Luis Jaramillo, Ecuador’s Minister of Production, Foreign Trade and Investment. According to the Government of Canada, negotiations concluded in January 2025.

The same official release notes that Ecuador is Canada’s sixth-largest merchandise trading partner in South America, with two-way trade of CAD 2.0 billion in 2025. Among Canada’s imports from Ecuador it lists cocoa, bananas, shrimp, fresh cut flowers, petroleum oils and precious metals.

Is it in force? Not yet

Each country must complete its domestic ratification process, and the agreement enters into force only after both have done so. Both governments said they would work to bring it into force “as soon as possible”, but there is no official date.

In Ecuador, the Presidency sent the agreement to the Constitutional Court on September 7, 2026. The Court must first decide whether it needs prior approval from the National Assembly and whether it is compatible with the Constitution. Then come an executive decree, publication in the Registro Oficial and an exchange of diplomatic notes with Canada that sets the date of entry into force. Canada must also complete its own internal procedures.

Status as of October 24, 2026: signed, under ratification, no date of entry into force. We will update this article when that changes.

What the agreement covers

Canada’s official summary describes a broad agreement. Besides trade in goods, it includes chapters on:

• Rules of origin and origin procedures.
• Customs and trade facilitation.
• Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and technical barriers to trade.
• Services, investment, digital trade and government procurement.
• Environment, labour, gender equality, Indigenous peoples and responsible business conduct.
• A dedicated trade and SMEs chapter, with commitments to help small and medium-sized businesses use the agreement.

Tariffs: what is known and what not to promise

On the day of signing, the EFE news agency reported that the agreement eliminates tariffs on 99.6% of Ecuador’s exportable goods, naming products such as bananas, cocoa, shrimp, tropical fruit, broccoli, hearts of palm and quinoa. Canada’s official summary, for its part, states that Ecuador will eliminate tariffs on 97.2% of its tariff lines for Canadian goods once the agreement is fully implemented, in some cases gradually.

For your specific product, what matters is its tariff classification, the phase-out schedule that applies to it in the treaty text, and whether it meets the rules of origin. Until entry into force, Canada’s current tariffs apply. That is why we do not recommend setting prices on the assumption of a zero tariff that is not in effect yet.

What the agreement does not change

A free trade agreement lowers tariffs and barriers, but it does not replace Canada’s food safety and labelling requirements. The SPS chapter builds on WTO obligations and science-based risk analysis, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will keep asking the same of imported food. Nor does it replace the private certifications many buyers require.

How to prepare today

• Identify the tariff classification (HS code) of each product you want to export.
• Check whether your product can show Ecuadorian origin under the agreement’s rules: where your inputs come from and what processing happens in Ecuador.
• Learn the CFIA requirements for your product category and the documents your importer will ask for.
• Ask potential buyers which certifications they require (Fair Trade, organic, GLOBALG.A.P. or others).
• Price with current tariffs, and keep a separate scenario for when the agreement enters into force.