BOGOTÁ, April 11: Colombia slapped 100 percent tariffs on Ecuadorean imports on Friday in response to a similar move by its South American neighbor the day before, the Ministry of Commerce said.
The two countries have been engaged in a trade war for months, with Ecuador's right-wing President Daniel Noboa criticizing his leftist counterpart Gustavo Petro for failing to crack down on drug trafficking and illegal mining along their shared border.
On Thursday, Ecuador hiked tariffs on Colombian goods from 50 percent to 100 percent, prompting Petro to recall his ambassador to Bogota.
Colombia has imposed reciprocal tariffs every time Ecuador has raised tariffs since the start of the year, going from an initial 30 percent to 100 percent.
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But Petro specified Friday afternoon that some materials essential to Colombian industrial production will have "zero percent tariff," in an X post.
"We have exhausted all diplomatic efforts," Colombian Commerce Minister Diana Morales said in a statement.
The simmering tensions between the two Andean nations intensified this week after Petro called former Ecuadorean vice president Jorge Glas a "political prisoner."
Glas, in office from 2013 to 2018 during the presidencies of leftist Rafael Correa and then Lenin Moreno, was sentenced last year to 13 years in prison for corruption.
Glas alleges he has experienced cruel and degrading treatment in prison, where he has been held since November.
Petro also raised the possibility of Colombia withdrawing from the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), a bloc that includes Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, on Thursday.
CAN facilitated a meeting of diplomatic delegations from both countries on Friday to encourage dialogue.
Colombia's main legal exports to Ecuador are electricity, medicines, vehicles, cosmetics and plastic products, while it imports vegetable fats and oils, canned tuna, minerals and metals, according to trade associations.
Additionally, about 70 percent of the cocaine produced in Colombia and Peru, the world's largest producers, transits through Ecuador for export via its Pacific ports.
Once a haven of peace, Ecuador is now torn apart by infighting between criminal groups, leading to a rise in homicides in the country.
