Colombia will suspend electricity exports to Ecuador and impose a 30% tariff on 20 products from its neighbour, Colombian authorities said on Thursday, marking a sharp escalation in a growing dispute over trade imbalances and cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking.
The move came a day after Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced that his government would impose a 30% “security charge” on goods imported from Colombia beginning February 1, citing a widening trade deficit and what he described as insufficient cooperation on combating drug trafficking.
Power and Trade Tensions
Colombia is a key supplier of electricity to Ecuador. While Noboa’s government later clarified that Ecuador’s tariff would include exceptions for electricity sales and oil logistics services, Bogota proceeded with its retaliatory measures.
Colombia’s energy ministry said it had issued a resolution suspending “international transactions of electricity with Ecuador,” describing the decision as a preventive measure to safeguard domestic supply amid climate variability.
“When adequate technical, energy and commercial conditions exist, exports will be reactivated,” the ministry said, without directly linking the suspension to Ecuador’s trade measures.
Earlier, Colombia’s Energy Minister Edwin Palma had criticised Ecuador’s actions and cancelled a recent initiative that would have allowed private companies to participate in cross-border electricity sales.
Tariffs and Reciprocity
Colombia’s commerce and industry ministry said the 30% tariff was “proportional, transitory and revisable”, aimed at restoring balance in bilateral trade following Ecuador’s security charge decision. The ministry added that Bogota remained open to dialogue.
The Colombian government did not specify which products would be affected by the tariff. However, Colombia’s main imports from Ecuador include fish, vegetable oil, and auto parts.
In response, Ecuador’s energy minister said Colombian crude transported through the Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados (OCP)—Ecuador’s second-largest oil pipeline—would receive “reciprocity similar to electricity”, without elaborating on the practical implications.
Trade Figures
Ecuador recorded a $838 million trade deficit with Colombia in the first 10 months of last year, according to Ecuador’s central bank.
Colombia, meanwhile, exported $1.67 billion worth of goods to Ecuador in the first 11 months of last year, representing 3.6% of its total exports, according to Colombia’s statistics agency DANE.
Drug Trafficking Dispute
Colombia has repeatedly rejected accusations that it is not doing enough to combat drug trafficking.
President Gustavo Petro said cooperation with Ecuador’s armed forces remained strong, noting that Colombia had seized 200 metric tonnes of cocaine along the two countries’ shared border.
“I hope Ecuador has been grateful, when they have needed us, that we have acted energetically in solidarity,” Petro wrote on X, adding that his government was willing to expand joint efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking.
Political Context
The dispute comes as President Noboa, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has made the fight against organised crime a central pillar of his administration. His government has declared multiple states of emergency and deployed more than 10,000 soldiers to curb gang violence, which it says drove murder rates up 30% last year.
The United States has also increased pressure on regional governments over drug trafficking. Colombia’s Petro was sanctioned by Washington last year over alleged failures to stem cocaine flows—claims he denied—but tensions eased in January following a phone call between Petro and Trump.
