This weekend, Ecuadoran President Guillermo Lasso stated that negotiations for his nation to reach a free-trade accord with Mexico are at a "dead end." Such a free-trade deal would have been a stepping stone for Ecuador to enter the Pacific Alliance, a broader trade bloc. Ecuador warned in December that it would be "impossible" to sign a free-trade accord with Mexico unless a deal included bananas, one of its major exports.
Lasso said that the failure to get a trade accord with Mexico "is not so serious" since Ecuador has expanded and intensified trade talks elsewhere. Mexico is one of the founding members of the Pacific Alliance, which also includes Chile, Colombia and Peru.
Ecuador is also pursuing trade talks with South Korea, Canada, Costa Rica and the United States.
Source: barrons.com