USCBC Key Policy Areas

More about USCBC

U.S.-Colombia Business Council

OVERARCHING POLICY AGENDA

Facilitate sustained, high‑level dialogue between the U.S. private sector and the U.S. and Colombian governments to promote policies that strengthen bilateral trade and investment, support cross‑sector competitiveness, and advance inclusive economic growth and job creation.

Advocate for predictable, transparent, and efficient regulatory and administrative frameworks, including timely permitting and licensing processes, regulatory coherence between national and subnational authorities, and consistent enforcement of existing laws.

Promote a stable and competitive investment climate across industries by supporting legal certainty, respect for contracts and property rights, sound tax and fiscal policies, and adherence to the rule of law.

Serve as a cross‑sector platform for collaboration and expertise, convening member companies, subject‑matter experts, and public‑sector counterparts to share best practices, inform evidence‑based policymaking, strengthen institutional capacity, and advance policies that enhance sustainability, resilience, energy security, and long‑term economic competitiveness.

To address these themes, the USCBC has prepared policy recommendations under the following categories:

Colombia and the United States enjoy a mutually beneficial bilateral commercial relationship. U.S. goods and services trade with Colombia totaled an estimated $53.3 billion in 2024, up 8.3 percent ($4.1 billion) from 2023. The United States is Colombia’s largest trading partner and the leading destination for Colombian exports, while Colombia is currently the United States’ 25th largest goods trading partner worldwide with 37.2 billion in total goods traded during 2025. More than 600 U.S.-owned firms presently operate in Colombia and support close to 120,000 jobs. The United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA), which entered its 14^th year, has been a major contributor to expanded two-way trade and has proven to be a driver for economic growth through skills and technology transfer, standards development, and labor and environment best practices.

As the CTPA marks its 14^th anniversary, the USCBC strives to maximize this important trade tool to strengthen the commercial bilateral relationship between the United States and Colombia and promote sustainable trade and investment between the two countries. In accordance with these objectives, we recommend the following:

Increase bilateral trade and maximize the potential of the CTPA
Enhance the rule of law for business
Encourage the participation of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in e-commerce
Customs modernization and trade facilitation

INCREASE BILATERAL TRADE AND MAXIMIZE THE POTENTIAL OF THE CTPA

The CTPA remains the cornerstone of the bilateral commercial relationship and a critical tool for expanding two‑way trade, investment, and integration into global value chains. Fully and consistently implementing CTPA commitments—together with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement—can enhance competitiveness by reducing border frictions, improving regulatory coherence, and expanding market access, including through greater regulatory and phytosanitary recognition.

To maximize the CTPA’s potential, the USCBC recommends:

Reduce barriers to trade and strengthen trade facilitation, including full implementation of CTPA and WTO commitments to accelerate customs clearance, reduce red tape, and lower logistics costs.

Ensure fair, objective, and transparent application of trade remedies, consistent with international obligations and due process.

Expand use of the CTPA Procurement Chapter to increase market access and opportunities for U.S. and Colombian firms in public procurement.

Prevent new regulatory barriers to automotive and cargo vehicle trade, including preserving recognition of U.S. FMVSS alongside UNECE standards and ensuring cargo‑vehicle scrappage rules do not impose de facto mandatory FOPAT payments that raise costs and regulatory uncertainty.

ENHANCE THE RULE OF LAW FOR BUSINESS

Strengthening the rule of law and regulatory predictability is essential for attracting investment, supporting nearshoring, and integrating Colombia more deeply into global value chains. For companies evaluating long‑term investment and operations, clear, stable, and consistently applied regulations are a decisive factor.

To enhance regulatory certainty and reinforce the rule of law, the USCBC recommends:

Promote transparent, timely, and predictable approval processes, greater alignment between national and subnational rules, and consistent enforcement of existing regulations.
Institutionalize public‑private dialogue to share best practices and reinforce transparency, due process, accountability, and regulatory stability.
Avoid unnecessary or duplicative regulation that increases compliance costs or discourages innovation and investment.
Expand participatory rulemaking, ensuring timely and meaningful opportunities for public comment on draft laws, decrees, and circulars.
Accelerate digitalization of government processes, including customs, trade facilitation, tax administration, licensing, and public procurement, to improve efficiency and reduce corruption risks.
Enhance tax certainty and transition periods, aligning with OECD best practices by providing adequate implementation timelines and avoiding unilateral measures that undermine predictability.

A more predictable and transparent regulatory environment will strengthen investor confidence, support competitiveness, and enable Colombia to fully capitalize on regional and global economic opportunities.

ENHANCE MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES’ PARTICIPATION IN E-COMMERCE

Colombia can leverage the growth of e‑commerce to expand exports and support the sustainable development of micro, small, and medium‑sized enterprises (MSMEs). Digital trade lowers entry barriers, reduces costs, and enables MSMEs to reach global markets, making e‑commerce a critical tool for export growth, productivity, and economic reactivation.

To strengthen MSMEs’ participation in e‑commerce, the USCBC recommends:

Build MSMEs’ digital and trade capabilities through targeted training, expanded digital inclusion, and the reduction of regulatory barriers to cross‑border e‑commerce.

Simplify customs and administrative requirements by expanding express shipment procedures, streamlining invoicing and foreign‑exchange rules, and facilitating compliance for MSMEs and first‑time exporters.

Scale MSME exports through e‑commerce platforms by supporting high‑quality connectivity, export‑promotion programs, and access to financing for digital trade.

Develop clear guidelines and share best practices to reduce complexity in the export process and accelerate MSMEs’ entry into international markets, including the United States.

CUSTOMS MODERNIZATION AND TRADE FACILITATION

Modern, efficient, and predictable customs procedures are essential to strengthening U.S.–Colombia trade, reducing logistics costs, and supporting integration into global value chains—particularly for MSMEs and time‑sensitive shipments. Continued progress on customs modernization and trade facilitation, consistent with the CTPA and the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, will improve transparency, border efficiency, and supply‑chain resilience while enhancing Colombia’s competitiveness as a trade and logistics hub.

To advance customs modernization and trade facilitation, the USCBC recommends:

Modernize Colombia’s customs IT systems to enable secure digital processes, greater automation, interoperability, and effective integration of all trade modalities, including express shipments.

Strengthen trusted‑trader frameworks, including expanding the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program and ensuring effective mutual recognition to facilitate low‑risk, compliant trade.

Align customs penalty regimes with international best practices, establishing transparent, predictable, and proportional enforcement that supports compliance without disrupting lawful trade.

Institutionalize regular public‑private consultation mechanisms to improve implementation, address operational bottlenecks, and align reforms with commercial realities.

Ensure legal and tax consistency in cross‑border trade, avoiding measures that create uncertainty or unintended barriers to trade in goods and digital services.

As Colombia advances its reindustrialization strategy, policies that foster innovation, attract investment, and ensure timely access to advanced health products and technologies are essential. A stable and predictable regulatory environment—supported by strong intellectual property protections and efficient market‑access pathways—will be critical to improving patient outcomes and strengthening the life sciences ecosystem.

The USCBC and its member companies have identified priority actions to reinforce Colombia’s health system through collaboration, regulatory efficiency, and sustainable financing. To advance near‑term, actionable reforms, we recommend establishing a formal multi‑stakeholder working group—including government, the private sector, academia, and civil society—to coordinate solutions and support evidence‑based policymaking.

Ensuring the financial sustainability of the healthcare system
Strengthening INVIMA’s institutional capacity
Enhancing Colombia’s intellectual property framework
Promoting public‑private partnerships to build a resilient, preventive, and sustainable health system

Public‑private partnerships can be further operationalized through a structured, national‑level platform that enables companies to formally propose and implement joint initiatives with the government. Building on existing local efforts, such a mechanism—potentially linked to a re‑established Competitiveness Council—would improve coordination, reduce fragmentation, and support targeted solutions aligned with priority health needs.

Ensuring the Financial Sustainability of the Healthcare System

Financial sustainability is central to maintaining a resilient healthcare system that delivers timely, equitable access to quality care while responding to growing demand. Achieving this requires predictable resource flows, efficient allocation, and financing models that improve outcomes without undermining long‑term fiscal balance.

To support sustainable financing, the USCBC recommends:

Address structural financing challenges by improving payment timeliness, reducing accumulated debt, and strengthening resource‑flow efficiency across the system.
Leverage private‑sector expertise to advance innovative financing approaches, and adopt value‑based healthcare models that improve efficiency and patient outcomes.

STRENGTHENING INVIMA’S INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY

A strong, well‑resourced, and technically capable INVIMA is essential to ensuring timely access to safe, high‑quality medicines and health technologies, while reinforcing Colombia’s attractiveness as a destination for life sciences investment and innovation. Continued modernization of the agency’s operations, workforce, and systems will be critical to improving regulatory efficiency, predictability, and market‑access timelines.

To strengthen INVIMA’s institutional capacity, the USCBC recommends:

Leverage U.S. and private‑sector expertise to modernize INVIMA’s operations, including process optimization, workforce training, and upgrades to IT and cybersecurity systems to improve efficiency and reduce backlogs.
Expand regulatory capacity for reviewing and approving innovative therapies, using internationally recognized standards and reliance-based approaches to accelerate reviews while maintaining high safety and quality standards.
Ensure adequate and predictable funding for INVIMA, recognizing that increased resources are necessary to fulfill its public‑health mandate and keep pace with growing demand for regulatory evaluations.
Strengthen regulatory efficiency and accountability through continued modernization of internal processes and performance‑based capacity‑building.

ENHANCING COLOMBIA’S IP FRAMEWORK

A strong and predictable intellectual property (IP) framework is essential to fostering innovation, attracting investment, and ensuring timely patient access to high‑quality treatments. In recent years, regulatory uncertainty, gaps in enforcement, and the direct erosion of IP rights have weakened Colombia’s competitiveness as a destination for life‑sciences investment and R&D. Reinforcing IP policies and their consistent, transparent implementation will be critical to restoring confidence, sustaining U.S. investment, and supporting long‑term innovation.

To strengthen Colombia’s innovation ecosystem and health competitiveness, the USCBC recommends:

Strengthen patent enforcement and legal certainty, including full implementation of patent linkage commitments under the Colombia–U.S. Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA), to prevent the approval and commercialization of follow-on products while valid patents remain in force.

Ensure compulsory licensing remains an exceptional measure of last resort, applied only in extraordinary circumstances and in full alignment with Colombia’s international obligations. Reaffirm that the use of compulsory licenses will not be used as a de facto pricing tool, in order to preserve investor confidence and incentives for innovation.

Promote health competitiveness through regulatory excellence and predictable frameworks, including a strong, technically autonomous INVIMA, timely access to state of the art treatments, market based solutions, and consistent respect for patentability—supporting competition that expands access to high value, cost-effective therapies while maintaining system sustainability.

By reinforcing effective IP protection and regulatory predictability, Colombia can strengthen its life sciences sector, expand patient access to innovative treatments, and position itself as a competitive regional hub for health and pharmaceutical innovation.

PROMOTING PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN HEALTH CARE

Public‑private partnerships (PPPs) are a critical tool for strengthening Colombia’s health care system and advancing innovation, resilience, and sustainability. Including the private health sector in health‑system planning and policy discussions is a practical and effective way to support research and development, improve productivity, and promote long‑term system performance. To facilitate meaningful collaboration, the Colombian government should consider the following measures:

Expand primary health care in rural and other underserved areas to enhance equitable access for vulnerable populations, including life‑course vaccination strategies.
Promote value‑based health care incentives that prioritize cost efficiency over the long-term, timely treatment, improved patient outcomes, prevention where possible, and early diagnosis.
Establish structured consultative mechanisms with the private sector to prevent overregulation and administrative delays, enabling faster patient access to life‑saving treatments.

To operationalize these efforts, Colombia should consider establishing a national‑level public‑private partnership platform that allows companies to formally propose and develop joint initiatives with the government. While similar collaborations exist at the local level, a structured national mechanism—potentially linked to a re‑established Competitiveness Council—could serve as a flagship framework for public‑private collaboration in health, strengthening coordination, fostering trust, and enabling targeted initiatives aligned with priority therapeutic areas.

Colombia’s natural resources and human capital position the country to advance sustainable growth while strengthening its role in global value chains. Through innovation‑driven, market‑based solutions, Colombia can promote resource efficiency, biodiversity conservation, and inclusive economic development, while mobilizing private investment and partnerships.

To advance circularity across value chains, the USCBC recommends:

Strengthen waste collection, sorting, and recycling infrastructure to support mechanical and advanced recycling technologies.

Promote access to recyclable materials to close material loops and reintegrate inputs into production processes.

Advance flexible, innovation friendly circular economy standards that encourage design for recycling and use of postconsumer recycled content.

Facilitate capacity building and best practice exchange to scale circular business models and environmental technologies.

To unlock Colombia’s agricultural potential through regenerative practices, the USCBC recommends:

Advance science-based policies—developed with farmers, academia, and the private sector—to promote regenerative agriculture and improve productivity and resilience.

Prioritize investments and incentives that support farmer adoption of regenerative practices, technology deployment, and resilient food production.

Expand public private partnerships to support sustainable land use, rural livelihoods, and inclusive value chain development.

Enable innovation and modern inputs, including biotechnology, to support sustainable productivity and long-term food security.

To reduce deforestation and protect biodiversity while supporting local communities, the USCBC recommends:

Mobilize private investment in nature-based solutions, including agroforestry and high-integrity carbon markets.

Promote scalable forest protections and restoration projects that reduce deforestation and restore degraded lands.

Strengthen the bioeconomy and community livelihoods by improving access to global markets for sustainable products.

Support innovation and knowledge sharing to scale conservation, restoration, and biodiversity based economic opportunities.

A policy framework that mobilizes private investment while empowering local communities can help Colombia achieve its climate goals, preserve biodiversity, and foster sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Colombia’s diversified energy resources—including renewables, hydrocarbons, and critical minerals—position the country as a strategic partner for the United States and a key contributor to regional and global energy supply chains. By strengthening regulatory certainty, expanding infrastructure, and responsibly developing resources, Colombia can enhance energy security, support economic growth, and advance a competitive and resilient energy transition.

To strengthen energy security and ensure a resilient supply chain, the USCBC recommends:

Diversifying Colombia’s Clean Energy Mix

Expanding clean and alternative energy sources is essential to improving reliability, reducing emissions, and strengthening domestic and export‑oriented energy supply.

Support deployment of electric‑mobility solutions through incentives and infrastructure investment to accelerate fleet renewal and emissions reductions.

Advance development of a diverse range of fuels, including biofuels and green hydrogen, through clear, consistent policy signals.

Promote firm, low‑emission baseload options, such as geothermal, to complement variable renewable generation.

Invest in enabling infrastructure—including grids, storage, and ports—to integrate new energy sources efficiently.

Strengthening the Enabling Environment for Energy Investment

A stable and predictable investment framework is essential to mobilizing capital for long‑term energy projects.

Ensure tax stability and coherence to support long‑term investment planning and avoid de facto double taxation.

Limit the use of emergency fiscal measures, reserving them for exceptional, well‑substantiated circumstances.

Uphold legal certainty and respect for judicial decisions, reinforcing confidence in the rule of law.

Improve regulatory coordination and permitting efficiency to reduce delays and project uncertainty.

Securing Responsible Resource Development

Responsible development of Colombia’s natural resources can support energy security, industrial growth, and supply‑chain resilience.

Advance sustainable development of critical minerals, hydrocarbons, fracking and non-conventional reservoirs (NCR) including early exploration and long-term project pipelines.

Streamline permitting and licensing processes while maintaining high environmental and social standards.

Promote public‑private collaboration on research, innovation, and best practices in resource development.

Enable clear, predictable frameworks for lawful development of domestic energy resources to support reliability and affordability.

Advancing a Just and Competitive Energy Transition

A successful energy transition must balance environmental objectives with competitiveness, regional development, and social inclusion.

Position the private sector as a strategic partner in financing and implementing transition initiatives.

Prioritize workforce retraining and economic diversification in energy‑producing regions.

Support scalable private decarbonization initiatives aligned with national transition goals.

Ensure stable policies for fuels, infrastructure, and markets to maintain energy security throughout the transition.

Reform fuel subsidies and improve market signals to support fiscal sustainability and investment.

A balanced energy strategy—grounded in regulatory certainty, responsible resource development, and collaboration—can strengthen Colombia’s energy security, enhance supply‑chain resilience, and support a competitive and inclusive transition.

A strong digital economy is essential to improving service delivery, integrating SMEs into global value chains, and positioning Colombia as a competitive technology hub. The USCBC supports a flexible, innovation‑enabling regulatory environment that promotes connectivity, cybersecurity, and the responsible adoption of emerging technologies.

To support Colombia’s digital transformation, the USCBC recommends:

Open Internet & Modern Connectivity

Preserve open‑internet principles that democratize access to technology and promote accountable governance, while allowing transparent and reasonable network management.

Modernize digital and telecommunications regulation to reduce deployment costs, eliminate unnecessary barriers, and enable technology‑neutral investment.

Adopt investment‑friendly spectrum policies, including regionally competitive pricing, predictable renewals, and incentives for rural and underserved coverage.

Promote mixed‑technology and last‑mile connectivity solutions to accelerate universal access, particularly in remote regions.

Pair connectivity investments with digital and bilingual skills development to enable broader participation in the digital and services economy.

Risk‑Based Artificial Intelligence & Skills Development

Adopt riskbased, contextspecific AI governance that avoids rigid, excessive requirements and supports innovation and experimentation.

Align with international standards to ensure interoperability, reduce compliance burdens, and facilitate global market access.

Protect intellectual property and security by avoiding mandatory disclosure of source code, model weights, or proprietary datasets.

Expand workforce skills and training pipelines, including early STEM education, short‑cycle digital credentials, and partnerships with industry and educational institutions.

Enable responsible access to public datasets, with strong privacy safeguards, to support local AI development and innovation.

Data Trust & Efficient Digital Government

Promote strong data protection frameworks that ensure transparency, user consent, and consumer rights while enabling innovation.

Advance technology neutral, innovation enabling public procurement to encourage competition and public sector digital modernization.

Integrate cybersecurity requirements into procurement processes, aligned with international security standards and best practices.

Strengthen institutional capacity through training public officials in digital policies, including AI, interoperability, and cybersecurity.

Ensure digital regulations respect intellectual property, and that rightsholders can appropriately enforce their rights.

A predictable, secure, and innovation friendly digital policy framework can drive investment, expand access, and strengthen Colombia’s position in the global digital economy.