Canada and Ecuador Formally Sign Free Trade Agreement

Washington (ANTARA) - Canada and Ecuador have officially signed a free trade agreement, Canadian Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu announced on Friday. “Today, Canada officially signed a Free Trade Agreement with Ecuador alongside Luis Alberto Jaramillo, Ecuador’s Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, and Investment,” Sidhu wrote on platform X. Sidhu added that the agreement opens new opportunities for Canadian businesses in Ecuador, while strengthening supply chains and creating measurable access for goods, services, and investment between Ottawa and Quito. The agreement also expands opportunities for cooperation in the agriculture, clean technology, infrastructure, and natural resources sectors. Negotiations for the free trade agreement between Canada and Ecuador began in April 2024. The nearly year-long discussions concluded in February 2025, marked by an announcement of the deal by Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa. However, since the start of negotiations, human rights groups in Canada have scrutinised the agreement. They fear that mining expansion triggered by the deal could threaten ecosystems and worsen human rights conditions in Ecuador.