Ruptly
"Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Monday that his government will not impose 100 per cent tariffs on essential imports from Ecuador, as trade and diplomatic tensions between the two countries continue. Speaking at a meeting with his economic team and regional officials in the border city of Ipiales, Petro said Colombia would protect its economy by backing domestic production with subsidies and support for key sectors, in an effort to reduce reliance on imports. "There are no 100 per cent tariffs, Minister of Trade. We are not that foolish. Everything Colombia needs, everything produced in Colombia, enters at zero per cent. But if we import from Ecuador, then Colombian goods will be subsidised," said the president. Ecuador and Colombia are locked in a growing trade dispute, with both sides blaming each other over drug trafficking and border control. The row has led to tariffs that have hurt trade and disrupted the movement of goods in border areas. Petro said the measures were aggressive and harmed both countries. "They think we are crazy and stupid in economics, and it turns out they are the ones who do not understand economics for being neoliberal, making decisions that harm the national economy and the people," the Colombian leader added. Petro also criticised Ecuador's move to tighten security along the border with Colombia, saying the measures would further damage ties between the two countries. "What Noboa is doing is effectively handing the border over to the mafia. Why? Because if he closes the road from Tumaco to Esmeraldas, a road that no Ecuadorian president has wanted to open for fear that cocaine would flow through it, then there are only two possible explanations. Either they have no idea how drug trafficking actually works, both globally and along the border, or they are acting as allies of the mafia," Petro said. The Colombian president also urged Noboa to lift the tariffs and hold talks, saying he had already made the request in Panama and claiming Noboa was 'afraid to speak with me,' despite the need for dialogue in the interests of both countries."
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