Colombia has raised tariffs on neighbouring Ecuador to 100 percent, matching the rate Quito set just a day earlier, in a rapidly escalating trade and diplomatic war between the two South American nations.
Colombia's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism confirmed on Friday that tariffs on Ecuadorian goods will jump from 30 percent to 100 percent — a tit-for-tat response that takes effect immediately and threatens to choke off trade across one of the region's busiest borders.
"We have exhausted all diplomatic efforts and kept channels of dialogue open with the government of Ecuador, seeking a solution that benefits both countries, businesses, and above all, the communities on both sides of the border," said Colombian Trade Minister Diana Morales. "However, we have not received a positive response."
A feud over drugs, deficits and a jailed vice president
Ecuador hiked its own tariffs against Colombia in recent months, citing a trade deficit and accusing its neighbour of not doing enough to fight drug trafficking. Colombia has denied the charge, pointing to its military operations to intercept illicit drugs — including, just last November, its biggest drug seizure in a decade.
But the dispute goes far beyond trade figures. The right-wing government of Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa has clashed repeatedly with Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, and the personal feud has now spilled into open diplomatic warfare.
Just this week, Noboa slammed Petro's remarks about the imprisonment of former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas as an "assault on our sovereignty". Petro has repeatedly called Glas — convicted of corruption — a "political prisoner" and has demanded the former vice president be transferred to Colombian custody.
Last month, Petro accused Noboa of bombing near the Colombian border without coordinating with his government. Charred bodies were reportedly recovered from the scene. Ecuador has also recalled its ambassador from Colombia over the Glas comments.
Border communities caught in the middle
The tariff war lands hardest on the communities along the shared border, where cross-border trade sustains thousands of small businesses and farming families. With both governments now taxing each other's goods at 100 percent, exporters on both sides face what amounts to a near-total shutdown of legal trade.
Neither president has shown any sign of backing down. With diplomacy exhausted, according to Morales, and grievances piling up over drugs, sovereignty and a jailed former vice president, the Andean neighbours are now locked in one of the sharpest trade confrontations in South America in years.
Reporting based on Al Jazeera and the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.