Ecuador charges clothing by the kilo and shoes by the pair on top of a 10% duty, which makes cheap goods expensive to import. Here is the tariff with a worked example, the taxes, the Andean labelling rules and what Paraguayan producers should check.
Ecuador protects its textile and footwear industries with mixed duties: a 10% ad valorem duty plus a specific amount — US$5.50 per kilo for clothing, US$6 per pair for most footwear. The specific part does not change with the price, so it weighs most on low-value goods. A US$3 pair of shoes pays more than twice its value in duty; a US$80 pair pays under 20%. That design, not the headline rate, decides which products make sense to import.
Labelling follows Andean rules adopted in 2021 for apparel and footwear, checked in the market rather than at the border, and goods from agreement partners — the EU, Andean neighbours, Mercosur under ACE 59 — can enter without the duty. This article covers the tariff with a worked example, taxes, the labels, controls on valuation and what Paraguayan producers should check. The general tax stack is in our guide to importing into Ecuador in 2026.
| Goods | Duty without an agreement |
|---|---|
| Apparel, knitted and woven (chapters 61–62) | 10% + US$5.50 per kg |
| Footwear, most lines (6401–6405) | 10% + US$6 per pair |
| Specialised sports footwear (athletics, football, tennis and similar) | 15% |
| Uppers and some footwear parts (6406) | 10% + US$3 per unit |
| Rubber or plastic soles and heels | 7.5% |
| Insoles, counters, toecaps | 15% |
For apparel, the specific duty is charged on the net weight. Heavy garments such as jeans and jackets pay more per piece than T-shirts and underwear, and light garments of high value pay the least as a share of price. For footwear, the per-pair amount applies to most lines, while specialised sports shoes pay a flat 15%. Classification therefore matters twice: the line decides both the rate and whether the duty is per kilo, per pair or purely ad valorem.
Fabrics and yarns (chapters 50–60) have their own rates; check them line by line rather than assuming the garment rate. On the China agreement in force since May 2024, the government said footwear would not be affected, presenting it as protection for local producers; check whether your line has any phase-out before assuming a lower rate for Chinese goods. Ecuador’s protection here is in the tariff itself rather than in anti-dumping cases.
Law and practice: Ecuador national customs tariff (Arancel del Ecuador, NANDINA), chapters 62 and 64: “10 + USD 5.5 por kg” for garments, “10 + USD 6/par” for most footwear, 15 for specialised sports footwear. Check the current line with your broker, as COMEX can amend rates by resolution.
| CIF US$100,000, no agreement | Cotton T-shirts, 5,000 kg (US$20/kg) | Leather shoes, 10,000 pairs (US$10/pair) |
|---|---|---|
| Ad valorem 10% | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Specific part | 27,500 (US$5.50 × 5,000 kg) | 60,000 (US$6 × 10,000 pairs) |
| FODINFA 0.5% | 500 | 500 |
| VAT 15% | 20,700 | 25,575 |
| Total at clearance | 58,700 | 96,075 |
| ISD 5% on paying the supplier | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| Duty as % of CIF | 37.5% | 70% |
The two columns show the same CIF value with very different results. Cotton T-shirts at US$20 per kilo pay 37.5% in duty; leather shoes at US$10 a pair pay 70%. Raise the shoe price to US$30 a pair and the duty on the same US$100,000 falls to 30%. VAT is recoverable for a registered importer; duty, FODINFA and the 5% ISD are not. Goods with full preference under an agreement pay only FODINFA, VAT and ISD.
Law and practice: Illustrative, non-agreement origin. VAT base: CIF + duty + FODINFA.
Clothing and footwear are classic high-risk goods for customs valuation. Because the specific duty is per kilo or per pair, misdeclared weight or quantity is checked as closely as the price. SENAE compares declared values with its own databases and can demand contracts, payment records and freight invoices; in Ecuador the ISD paid on the transfer to the supplier sits in the same tax file, so a low invoice and a high payment are easy to match.
Weight
Declare net weight per line; mixed cartons slow inspection.
Quantity
Pairs and units must match the packing list exactly.
Classification
Knitted versus woven, leather versus textile upper, sports versus casual footwear.
Samples
Above the courier limits, samples clear as ordinary imports and pay the mixed duty.
Small parcels are a separate route: personal-use courier shipments up to 4 kg and US$400 pay a flat US$20 since June 2025. Commercial goods must use the ordinary declaration.
Clothing and footwear carry no special consumption tax. Imports pay duty, the 0.5% FODINFA levy and 15% VAT on CIF plus duty and FODINFA. The importer pays 5% ISD when paying the supplier; finished consumer goods are not on the reduced 2.5% list, which targets raw materials and inputs. Fabrics and other inputs for local manufacturing may qualify — check the current list.
Law and practice: Executive Decree 272 (ISD rates 2026).
Since 15 November 2021, labels on clothing and footwear sold in Ecuador follow two Andean technical regulations, applied in Ecuador by the production ministry’s quality office: Secretariat General Resolution 2109 (amended by 2173) for apparel and Resolution 2107 (amended by 2170) for footwear, leather goods and travel articles. Ecuador’s older national labelling regulation for textiles (RTE INEN 013) is still referred to in market guides; ask your broker whether any national requirement still applies to your product. No conformity certificate is required at import: the label is treated as the importer’s sworn declaration and checked by market surveillance, with testing at the operator’s expense.
Fibre composition
In decreasing order by mass; fibres of 5% or more declared by name, smaller ones may be grouped as “otros”; ±3% tolerance in blends.
Size
Alphabetic or numeric; dimensions in SI units.
Care
Text or ISO 3758 symbols.
Identification
Manufacturer or importer name and its tax number (RUC in Ecuador); a brand is not enough.
Origin
“Hecho en” or equivalent.
Language and permanence
Spanish; composition, care and origin on a permanent label sewn or fixed to the garment.
Footwear labels follow the same logic: the materials of upper, lining and sole, origin, size and the importer’s identification. Exempt from the apparel regulation are made-to-measure garments, samples without commercial value, personal luggage and courier shipments. Relabelling in Ecuador is possible under separate ministry rules, but it is cheaper to label at the factory.
Law and practice: Andean Decision 827; SGCAN Resolutions 2107/2170 and 2109/2173; Ministry of Production Resolution MPCEIP-SC-2021-0168-R (15 November 2021).
Under ACE 59, Ecuador grants Paraguayan goods preferences on about 98% of tariff lines. On a product that would otherwise pay 10% plus US$6 a pair, a full preference is decisive — but textiles and footwear are typical sensitive goods where partial preferences survive. Check the line in the ACE 59 schedule before quoting: and confirm whether the preference applies to the per-kilo or per-pair amount as well as the percentage.
Rules of origin
Apparel must meet the agreement’s origin rule; garments cut and sewn from imported fabric may or may not qualify depending on the line.
Certificate
Paper, issued by Paraguay’s authorised bodies, valid 180 days.
Labels
Paraguayan labels usually lack the importer’s Ecuadorian RUC; add it before sale.
Third-country invoicing
Allowed under ACE 59.
Apparel is not a significant part of Paraguay’s current sales to Ecuador, which are dominated by pharmaceuticals. The opportunity, where it exists, is in niche goods with high value per kilo — leather goods, technical garments — where the mixed duty bites least even without a preference.
Law and practice: ALADI fact sheet for ACE 59; see our ACE 59 guide.
Chapter 61, 62 or 64 line; per kilo, per pair or ad valorem.
US$5.50/kg or US$6/pair against your unit value.
EU, Andean or ACE 59 preference and its rule of origin.
Andean regulations: composition, size, care, origin, importer RUC.
Weight, pairs, invoice and payment must match.
5% ISD on paying the supplier.
Ecuador national tariff, chapter 62 · Ecuador national tariff, chapter 64 · Resolution MPCEIP-SC-2021-0168-R · SGCAN Resolution 2109 (apparel labelling) · PromPerú — Ecuador apparel market access · Primicias — Ecuador–China agreement
Without an agreement, 10% plus US$5.50 per kilo of net weight for apparel in chapters 61 and 62.
Most footwear pays 10% plus US$6 per pair; specialised sports footwear pays 15%.
The Andean technical regulation on apparel labelling (SGCAN Resolution 2109, amended by 2173), in force since November 2021: fibre composition, size, care, origin and importer identification, in Spanish.
No. Since 2021 labels are treated as the importer’s declaration and checked in the market.
No. Imports pay duty, 0.5% FODINFA and 15% VAT, plus 5% ISD on the payment abroad.
Not as a rule. The government said footwear would not be affected by the agreement; check the line’s schedule before assuming any reduction.
Many lines have preferences under ACE 59, but textiles and footwear may keep partial preferences and must meet the rule of origin. Check the line.
Tariff, FODINFA, VAT, ISD and ACE 59 in one guide.
Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador compared.
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