Finance Colombia | 23 July 2022

Colombia UK post-Brexit bilateral trade agreement goes into force

By Loren Moss

After completing government protocols, as of Tuesday, June 28, Colombia and the United Kingdom put into force the trade agreement signed in May 2019, and ratified in Colombia through Law 2067 of 2020.

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, María Ximena Lombana Villalba, indicated that this agreement was negotiated to provide continuity between the UK and Colombia as originally agreed to within the framework of the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, which the United Kingdom left on December 31, 2020.

The tariff commitments acquired by the two countries are developed through Decree 894 of May 31, 2022. With the implementation of this agreement, Colombia has 18 active bilateral or multilateral international trade agreements in force.

Between 2002 and 2021 UK based entities invested more than $22.6 billion USD in Colombia.

In 2021, trade between the two countries totaled $934.5 million USD, with exports of total goods from Colombia to the UK for $451 million USD, which represented 1.1% of what the country sold globally and 10.1% of what it exported to continental Europe. These exports grew 19.6% compared to 2020.

Between January and April of this year, sales to that market totaled $215.2 million USD, an increase of 39.5% compared to the same period in 2021. Of that total, US$133.2 million corresponds to non-mining assets.

“That country has a population of 67.2 million inhabitants that grows annually by 0.6% and is characterized by being a high-income society, where trends towards sustainable and responsible consumption have grown. It is a country with high purchasing power, with a GDP per capita of US$41,059, so it was necessary to maintain that preferential access for Colombian products,” said Minister Lombana.

One of the sectors for which the UK is a relevant market is for agriculture. About 68% of exports corresponded to this class of products, among which bananas stand out (representing about 30% of total exports), coffee (17%), flowers (11%), Hass avocado (almost 6%). Tilapia and passion fruit are also emerging exports, along with latex balloons, instant coffee, and medicines.