WT/REG463/M/1  
21 December 2023  
(23-8657) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Hundred and Eighth Session  Original: English  
 
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EFTA STATES 
AND ECUADOR (GOODS AND SERVICES)  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 20-21 NOVEMBER  2023 
Chair: Ambassador H.E. Ms. Clare KELLY (New Zealand)  
1.1.  The 10 8th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter "CRTA" or the 
"Committee") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/3 4/Rev. 1 dated 10 November  2023.  
1.2.  Under Agenda Item I. IV, the CRTA considered the Agreement establishing an Economic 
Partnersh ip Agreement between the EFTA States and Ecuador, goods and services , (hereinafter "the 
Agreement"  or "CEPA" ). The Chair  stated that the Factual Presentation had been prepared by the 
Secretariat on its own responsibility in full consultation with the Parti es, in accordance with 
paragraph 7(b) of the Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements (document 
WT/L/671).  
1.3.  The Agreement had entered into force on 1 November  2020 for all Parties. It had been  notified 
to the WTO by the Parties on 22 February  2022 under Articles  XXIV:7(a) of the GATT  1994 and 
Article  V:7(a) of the GATS as a broad agreement covering trade in goods and services , in documents 
WT/REG4 63/N/1 and S/C/N/10 77 respectively.  The text of the Agreement, together with its 
Annexes, was available on the Parties' official websites and in the WTO RTA database.  The Factual 
Presentation, document  WT/REG463/1, and questions and replies, document WT/REG463/2, ha d 
been distributed.  
1.4.  The r epresentative of Switzerland, speaking on behalf of the EFTA States – Iceland, 
Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland  thank ed the Secretariat for the Factual Presentation  on the 
CEPA. The history of th e Agreement went back to 2015 when the EFTA States and E cuador had 
signed a Joint Declaration on Cooperation and had started negotiations. It had taken  less than two 
years and only five rounds to conclude negotiations and the CEPA had been  signed on 25 June 2018 
in Iceland. At the time, it was the 28th Free Tra de Agreement signed by the EFTA States and two 
additional ones had been signed since then, with Indonesia and Moldova . 
1.5.  The CEPA  was a broad -based agreement with comprehensive coverage, including chapters on 
trade in goods, trade in services, investment, in tellectual property rights, government procurement, 
competition, trade and sustainable development, trade facilitation  and dispute settlement. In trade 
in goods, the EFTA States had abolish ed all customs duties on imports of industrial products, 
including fish and other marine products originating from Ecuador. While preserving sensitive 
agricultural products on both sides, the Agreement also provide d increased market access for 
agricultural products. For instance, some key Ecuadorian exports such as quinoa , bananas, chia, and 
certain processed agricultural products c ould enter the EFTA markets at reduced customs rates. In 
the area of rules of origin, the Agreement allow ed for accumulation with all types of products , 
industrial and agricultural , among the Parties as well as for the possibility of self -declaration of origin. 
The Agreement also enable d stronger cooperation on controls and checks for animal and plant 
health, a nd the removal of red tape with transparent and facilitated procedures.  
1.6.  The Agreement also allow ed the Parties to set out important parameters for the enforcement 
of intellectual property rights, including at the border, and establishe d a common understan ding of 
the domestic regulatory framework in key areas of intellectual property.  WT/REG463/M/1  
 
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  1.7.  The trade in services Chapter cover ed all four modes of supply and closely follow ed the GATS 
approach. Separate Annexes on financial services, telecommunication services, mov ement o f natural 
persons supplying services, and maritime transport services provide d additional disciplines specific 
to those sectors. The Parties grant ed market access commitments beyond the GATS. The Agreement 
improve d access for Ecuadorian investors in non-services sectors by making the framework 
conditions in the EFTA States more transparent, non -discriminatory and predictable. In the future, 
the Parties m ight review the services schedules and the investment reservations to national 
treatment to achiev e further liberalisation between both sides.  
1.8.  By recognizing the interdependence between trade and sustainable development in  the CEPA, 
the Parties had  reaffirmed their commitment to multilateral environmental and labour agreements 
and principles. They had aimed at promoting full and productive employment and decent work for 
all, improving forest law enforcement and governance, recognising the importance of biological 
diversity, and promoting the use of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Spe cies 
(CITES). They also str ove to implement in an effective manner the United Nations Framework 
Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, combat illegal, unreported and unregulated 
fishing, and facilitate investment and trade in services and go ods that contribute d to sustainable 
development. Furthermore, they undert ook to uphold levels of protection in the application and 
enforcement of labour and environmental laws, regulations and standards. The Parties  had ensure d 
a thorough and continuous mo nitoring of the implementation of their trade and sustainable 
development Chapter in the context of Joint Committee meetings. In December 2021, the y had 
discussed a wide range of issues such as measures and frameworks for labour market developments, 
effort s in natural resources management, and strategies to reduce their carbon footprint and 
preserve the environment.  
1.9.  In December 2021, the EFTA States and Ecuador had held their first Joint Committee Meeting 
preceded by the first meeting of the Sub -Committee o n Trade in Goods. The Parties had confirmed 
the good functioning of the Agreement, taken  stock of progress achieved in objectives for trade and 
sustainable development, and discussed opportunities for further developments in trade in goods, 
customs and ori gin. At th at meeting, the Parties had agreed to remove the threshold for Ecuadorian 
exporters to use the origin declaration. The EFTA States and Ecuador  had been in contact with a 
view to schedule the next Joint Committee meeting in the near future.  
1.10.   For th e last three years, Parties'  trade relationships ha d flourished under the umbrella of the 
CEPA, which had entered into force on 1 November 2020 for all the Parties. According to national 
trade statistics , excluding gold, total trade with Ecuador had been  close to EUR 260 million in 2022, 
which implie d an increase of 32.3% of trade values with respect to 2020 values. Th at positive trend 
had benefitted all Parties, and exports and imports had balanced out in 2022. Moreover, the amount 
of trade in 2022  had been the highest recorded value between the Parties ; and preliminary data for 
the first seven months of 2023 indicate d that that level of trade values would  be sustained. The 
entry into force of the CEPA had coincide d with a global slowdown in trade related to the COVID -19 
pandemic. However, the trust  that had  built up around the CEPA had allowed the Parties  to sustain 
EFTA's exports to Ecuador and to foster EFTA 's imports from Ecuador, which ha d grown year af ter 
year since 2018.  
1.11.   Besides the impact on trade flows, the Parties also believe d that the A greement ha d already 
shown some positive impact in reducing trade costs for exporters, and hopefully to the benefit of all 
their respective populations. Calculating  utilisation rates only on dutiable imports, the publicly 
available EFTA FTA Monitor show ed that the preference utilisation rates for EFTA 's imports from 
Ecuador in 2021, the first full year covered by the Agreement, had been 86.3%. Based on 2021 
imports f rom Ecuador, the FTA would ha ve offered duty -free import conditions on 98.4% of imports, 
while it would ha ve only been 65.4% under the MFN scheme. Th at finding  was in line with the WTO 
estimates in the Factual Presentation indicating that only a small part  of imported goods from EFTA 
partner w ould remain subject to duties after the entry into force of the CEPA. Tariff savings in 2021 
on Ecuador 's exports to the EFTA States had amounted to USD 5.6 million, most of them for imports 
of fresh fruit. Other impor tant tariff savings had been  recorded for preparations of vegetables and 
plants.  
1.12.   Furthermore, bilateral trade highlight ed the complementarity between the EFTA States and 
Ecuador. In 2022, the main exports from the EFTA States to Ecuador had been  chemical p roducts 
including pharmaceuticals, machinery and mechanical appliances, and optical and precision 
instruments , whilst vegetable products, and prepared foodstuffs had been  the main imports.  WT/REG463/M/1  
 
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  1.13.   In conclusion, the CEPA provid ed stable and predictable terms of trade, and trade 
opportunities for all Parties under the Agreement. Th at had been the result of increased trust and 
strengthened economic links between reliable trade partners, and they expect ed that it w ould 
continue gener ating trade opportunities in the coming years. Their trade arrangement  had helped 
them ensure a future of shared and mutual benefit s, and they looked forward to it.  He thank ed the 
Members who had sent written questions ahead of th e meeting - the European U nion, Argentina, 
and the United Kingdom – and to which they had provided replies , and looked forward to hearing 
any remarks Members might have.  
1.14.   The representative of Ecuador  recalled that the negotiating process with the EFTA had begun 
in 2016 and had ende d in 2018 with the signing of the Agreement. In 2020, the process had been 
consolidated with the approval of the Agreement by the National Assembly and its ratification. The 
Agreement had allowed for a stable and trusting relationship with the EFTA countri es and had 
resulted in an increase in bilateral trade and investment flows, which had led to the creation of more 
jobs in the exporting production sector and the development and integration of MSMEs. Its 
implementation had been favourable for Ecuador and E FTA, generating and strengthening conditions 
that had boosted the presence of its products in those countries.  
1.15.   The implementation of the Agreement had also made it possible to improve the 
competitiveness of the products exported by Ecuador to EFTA countrie s. Regarding market access 
for agricultural and non -agricultural goods, in 2020 the manufacturing industry had accounted for 
more than two -thirds of the goods imports of the Parties. The main exports had been agricultural 
products in Iceland and Ecuador - 51% and 62% respectively - fuels and mining products in Norway 
- 56% - and manufactures in Switzerland - 71% - in terms of average 2017 -2019 trade . The EFTA 
Parties' main bilateral imports from Ecuador had been precious stones and vegetables, which had 
been also key exports for Ecuador. Regarding trade in services, it was important to strengthen 
statistics in order to identify opportunities.  
1.16.   The importance of the Agreement for Ecuador could be summarized as follows: the 
improvement and expansion of markets  for higher value -added exports to markets such as the EFTA 
countries, in particular for MSMEs, taking into account the importance of their digital integration; 
the facilitation and promotion of sustainable investments and improvement of customs procedures  
and trade facilitation to ensure better integration with the European market, with the implementation 
of simplified customs procedures, risk management systems, the systematization of Customs and 
customs procedures, and the issuance of advance rulings; an d integration of MSMEs into the 
international global economy through the facilitation of e -commerce.  
1.17.   Ecuador's competitiveness was based on the production of goods and services that respected 
the environment. The importance of trade and sustainable develo pment, in its three dimensions, 
had been reflected in the country's leadership in the fight against pollution, climate change and  
biodiversity loss.  
1.18.   In conclusion, and as had been noted by the EFTA representative, the Agreement provided 
stable and predicta ble trading conditions, and trade opportunities for all of its Parties. That had been 
the result of increased confidence and stronger economic ties among reliable trading partners, and 
he hoped that the Agreement would continue to create trade opportunitie s for its Parties.  
1.19.   The representative of the European Union  thanked Switzerland on behalf of EFTA States and 
Ecuador for the very comprehensive presentations made on the Agreement. She thanked the Parties 
for the responses provided to their questions. Her delegation had no further questions and wished 
both Parties success in implementin g the Agreement.  
1.20.   The representative of the United Kingdom  thanked the delegations of EFTA and Ecuador for 
their statements, and for having provided answers to the written que stions. He wished the Parties 
the best of luck in the implementation of their Agreement.  
1.21.   The Chair noted the consideration of the  Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement 
between the EFTA States and Ecuador, goods and services , had allowed the Committee to clarify a 
number of questions and conclude oral discussion of the RTA in accordance with paragraph 11 of 
the Transparency Mechanism. Any delegations wishing to ask follow -up questions were invited to 
forward submissions in writ ing to the Secretariat by 27 November 2023 and the Parties were asked WT/REG463/M/1  
 
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  to submit replies in writing by no later than 11 December 2023 . In accordance with paragraph 13 of 
the Transparency Mechanism all written submissions, as well as the minutes of the meeti ng would 
be circulated promptly, in all WTO official languages, and made available on the WTO website.  
1.22.   The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
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