Businesses demand restrictions on 4×4 package deliveries, claim original purpose has been ‘distorted’
A business coalition is urging the government to impose restrictions on the 4×4 package delivery system, claiming it has become an unregulated import route for goods that compete unfairly with Ecuadorian industry and retail outlets. ¡Mucho Mejor Ecuador! says the original intent of the system, to allow deliveries between migrants and their families, has been “distorted” and today allows cheap Chinese goods to flood into the country.
The coalition has not specified what restrictions it wants on the deliveries, saying it prefers to work those out with the Production Ministry, the Internal Revenue Service and the Customs Service. “We will ask for immediate changes to the system to protect domestic production and employment,” ¡Mucho Mejor Ecuador! said in a letter to government officials.
The letter added: “We also protest the unfairness that the deliveries of foreign products are untaxed while national products pay the 15% VAT.”
The number of 4×4 deliveries increased 90% in 2024 over 2023, and the Customs Service says deliveries are up more than 100% in the first four months of 2025.
¡Mucho Mejor Ecuador! said most of the unregulated foreign deliveries are ordered on the Temu, Shein and Amazon internet platforms.
The call for increased restrictions follows a government announcement two weeks ago that it is considering adding $42 charge to all 4×4 deliveries. The Trade Ministry cited the “unfair competition” that cheap clothing and other textile imports pose for domestic manufacturers and retail stores.
Established in 2012 to allow families to exchange packages from overseas, the 4×4 system allows packages of up to four kilograms with a value of up to $400 to ship tax free. ¡Mucho Mejor Ecuador! claims that in 2024, only 4% of 4×4 deliveries were between family members. “The Customs office tells us that that 6.8 million 4×4 packages entered the country in 2024 under this regime, with an FOB value of $502 million,” the group said.
In its letter to government ministries, ¡Mucho Mejor Ecuador! said restrictions on 4×4 deliveries would not violate Ecuador’s 2023 trade agreement with China.
