Ecuador will begin vehicle exports to Argentina in the first quarter of 2027, former Production, Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Luis Alberto Jaramillo announced. The announcement follows the signing of a bilateral automotive trade agreement between Ecuador and Argentina.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and Argentine President Javier Milei signed the deal on August 6, 2026, during Milei's official visit to Quito. A joint statement published by the Ecuadorian Presidency on X stated that the agreement sets new conditions for bilateral trade in vehicles and auto parts. The deal establishes tariff preferences, rules of origin, quotas, and mechanisms to promote market access, updating Economic Complementarity Agreement No. 59.
Vehicle Tariff Terms and Quotas
Jaramillo explained that the agreement gives vehicles assembled in Ecuador immediate access to the Argentine market with a mirror tariff of 10 percent and a 19 percent regional content index for a quota of 3,000 units. Outside the quota, tariffs will range from 32.5 percent immediately to 40 percent over ten years.
In a post on X on Friday, August 7, Jaramillo stated that auto parts including batteries and tires will qualify for a 0 percent tariff. He added that the agreement will increase international market access, investment, employment, and value-added exports.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility Roberto Kury reported earlier in the week that Jaramillo is preparing to become Ecuador's ambassador to China. Jaramillo is currently awaiting formal approval from the Chinese government.
