The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Colombia and the United States celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2022 in the midst of a global context that can give it a boost for the “new stage” in which bilateral relations enter.
(Read: The proposal to avoid a future deficit in the fuel fund).
According to figures from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane) and presented by the Colombo-American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham Colombia), from 2012 to 2021 bilateral trade, within the framework of the FTA, has reached US$127,183 million, where mining-energy exports have reached US$74,266 million, that is, 58.4% of the total. Meanwhile, the external sales of non-miners were for US$52,917 million, which is equivalent to 41.6% of the participation.
As for the products that have been marketed the most, the data from the Chamber of Commerce show that mining-energy products are leading, although they have been declining.
Now, regarding the other category, between 2012 and 2021 the external sale of flowers has grown 40.4% to the US$10,960,856 million; coffee and its derivatives by 63.2% to US$10,517,266 million and clothing have done the same by 31.2% to US$2,510,986.
In this period, only fruits stand out as the only category that has decreased, specifically, by 11.9% and adding a total of US$1,943,796 million.
Towards a repower
In a dialogue with Portafolio, María Claudia Lacouture, director of Amcham Colombia, stated that the conversation should be focused on “how to take advantage” of the terms of the trade agreement to further strengthen the trade relationship between both allied states.
To do this, he mentioned that there are opportunities in more public-private partnerships, productivity and competitiveness, phytosanitary access and relocation of companies (nearshoring).
That vision was what was reflected on the first day of the Bicentennial Summit, an event held by the business entity to make an X-ray of the current situation of the bilateral relationship and how it can be repowered.
Regarding the case of nearshoring, which has circulated in public opinion with greater frequency in at least the last two years, Juan González, director of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the White House National Security Council, assured that the region “must join efforts” to seize the moment and “work” towards a full economic integrationwhich “has been one of the historical weaknesses of the region.”
(Besides: 46.7% of Colombian households are considered poor).
A new stage in relationships
Another point that was discussed during the discussion was the future of binational relations between Colombia and the United States and how they can be repowered.
Those attending the event agreed that relations are now at a new stage after Joe Biden confirm Colombia as a “non-NATO strategic ally”, which means that the country has a privileged status within the select group of partners that do not belong to the Atlantic Treaty.
“We have so much in common that we need each other so much (…) Colombia is an allied and willing country and that is why we have this joint agenda for the region: migration, climate agenda, among others”, said the United States ambassador to Colombia, Phillip Goldberg.
One such opportunity is the United States-Colombia Strategic Alliance Bill 2022, presented to the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee by its chairman, Senator Robert Menéndez, and his colleague Tim Kaine.
In addition, there is the ‘Build Back Better World’ (B3W) initiative led by President Joe Biden as a mechanism to invest more than US$40 trillion in projects around the world with support for the private sector and focused on areas such as climate change, health , digital technology, gender equity, among others; according to the attendees.
ROBERTO CASAS LUGO
