Ecuador’s Constitutional Court urges renegotiation of sections of trade agreement with Costa Rica

The Constitutional Court of Ecuador today recommended renegotiating certain parts of the Commercial Association Agreement, signed with Costa Rica on March 1st, upon establishing that several articles of the agreement are unconstitutional.

The decision came with the support of five out of the nine judges of the constitutional control body.

The court clarified in a statement that the observed articles contradict Article 422 of the Ecuadorian Constitution, thus urging amendments to rectify the unconstitutionality.

In Ecuador, for such a trade agreement to be effective, it needs to be reviewed and approved by both the Constitutional Court and the National Assembly, as part of the internal legal formalities in both countries.

The agreement was signed by the Ecuador and Costa Rica presidents, Guillermo Lasso and Rodrigo Chaves respectively, in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The signing process encompassed four rounds of negotiation between August and December of 2022.

The modern trade agreement negotiated 20 disciplines, with the Ecuadorian government aiming to increase its export value to Costa Rica by more than 10 percent in the coming years.

In terms of goods, the trade exchange between both countries in 2022 reached approximately 110 million dollars, according to Ecuador’s Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment, and Fishing.

Ecuadorian exports to Costa Rica amounted to 40 million dollars.

Notable products included canned tuna and sardines, shrimp, medicines, household appliances, sanitary porcelain and ceramics, food products, forestry, and metal-mechanical goods, among others.

Imports from Costa Rica were approximately 70 million dollars and included iron or steel waste and scrap, medicines, medical supplies, food supplements, tires, and others.