Off the wire
• Color Run to launch Dream World Tour in 2017  • Xinhua China news advisory -- Dec. 21  • German Bundesliga standings  • German Bundesliga results  • 2nd LD: 26 killed in fireworks market blast near Mexico City  • Dortmund tie, Frankfurt win in German Bundesliga  • Chinese shares open higher Wednesday  • China treasury bond futures open higher Wednesday  • China Hushen 300 index futures open higher Wednesday  • France respects one-China principle: spokesman  
You are here: 　 Home

Ecuadorian president ratifies trade agreement with EU

Xinhua, December 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa on Tuesday issued an executive order ratifying his country's trade agreement with the European Union (EU).

This marked the final step of the bilateral treaty, which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2017.

"Following the approval of the (National) Assembly, I just ratified the trade agreement with the European Union. This year we achieved what they said was impossible," Correa said via Twitter.

The assembly approved the deal late Monday, which will allow "more than 99 percent of Ecuador's exports to enter the EU without paying tariffs, which fundamentally benefits the agricultural industry, the fishing sector and budding industry," state news agency Andes said.

The EU's 28 member countries represent a potential market of over 500 million consumers for Ecuadorian tuna, shrimps and other goods. The EU is also the main market for Ecuador's non-oil exports, accounting for around 25 percent of total. Endi