WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 
17 July 2012 
 (12-3889) 
Trade Policy Review Body Original:   Spanish 
  
 
   
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
 
Report by 
 
COLOMBIA 
 
Revision 
 
   
Pursuant to the Agreement Establishi ng the Trade Policy Review Mechanism 
(Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization), the policy statement by Colombia is attached. 
 Colombia WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 
 Page 3 
 
 
  CONTENTS 
 
  Page 
 
I.  OVERVIEW:  WHERE DO WE STAND AND WHERE ARE WE HEADED? 5  
II.  SOUND AND COMPETITIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH 5  
 (1)  OVERVIEW  5 
 (2)  COMPETITIVENESS AND GROWTH IN PRODUCTIVITY  7  
III.  TRADE POLICY:  CURRENT SITUATION AND OUTLOOK 9  
 (1)  OVERVIEW  9 
 (2)  MULTILATERAL , REGIONAL AND BILATERAL DEVELOPMENTS  9  
  (2.1)  M ULTILATERAL SPHERE  10 
  (2.2)  R EGIONAL AND BILATERAL SPHERES  10 
 (3)  INTEGRATION OF PRODUCTION INTO WORLD MARKETS  11  
IV.  CONCLUSIONS 14 
 
 Colombia WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 
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  COLOMBIA:  MACROECONOMIC, TRADE AND INVESTMENT ENVIRONMENT 
 
I. OVERVIEW:  WHERE DO WE STAND AND WHERE ARE WE HEADED? 
1. In November 2006, on the occasion of the third Trade Policy Review of Colombia, 
WTO Members were informed of the rationale a nd objectives of Colombia's Democratic Security 
Policy, designed to enhance physical safety and im prove investor confidence in order to stimulate 
economic growth and reduce poverty. 
2. For the four-year period from 2010 to 2014, th e Colombian Government has planned to 
bolster security, social cohesion and investor confidence, and to make significant progress in its 
democratic prosperity policy, "Prosperity for All". 
3. To achieve this goal, Colombia will act in three main areas in accord ance with its national 
development plan, "Prosperity for All":  it will c ontinue to focus on security;  it will consolidate 
growth;  and it will create more jobs and reduce poverty rates. 
4. Job creation is directly linked to economic grow th and vitality, and is a prerequisite to 
improving the welfare of the people.  In an effort  to achieve that objective, the Government has 
singled out five so-called "locomotive" sectors:  agriculture and rural development;  housing and 
friendly cities;  development and e xpansion of mining and energy;  tr ansport infrastructure;  and new 
innovation-based sectors.  Given the driving potentia l of these sectors, the Government hopes to be 
able to boost productivity, growth and employment. 
5. The fight against poverty requires a cross-cutting strategy that involves both direct and 
indirect action.  The direct action is linked to  the economic growth strategy designed to increase 
household income, while the indirect action includes the Social Protection System, the Social Welfare 
component, and the Red Unidos  (United Network) strategy to li ft 350,000 families out of extreme 
poverty. 
6. On the international front, the Colombian Gove rnment is pursuing its objective of becoming 
more integrated into the markets of Latin Am erica and the Caribbean, Europe and Asia, and 
strengthening its participation in mu ltilateral organizations.  To that end,  it has reinforced its efforts to 
internationalize its economy by:  (i) adjusting its  tariff policy to promote the transformation of 
production;  (ii) negotiating, implementing and ad ministrating international trade agreements;  
(iii) promoting investment;  and (iv) facilitating trade. 
7. None of this could have been achieved without concrete steps to consolidate good governance 
by applying the principles of transparency, effi ciency, effectiveness and accountability, as well as the 
adoption of the Anti-Corruption Statute contained in  Law 1474 of 2011, which updates the legislation 
and provides for a stricter disciplinary system for public officials and government contractors. 
II. SOUND AND COMPETITIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH 
(1) OVERVIEW  
8. Colombia's GDP grew at an annual average ra te of 4.8 per cent from 2005 to 2011, exceeding 
the average rate for Latin America and the Caribb ean (according to ECLAC, 4 per cent).  The main 
driving force behind this growth was investment , whose share in GDP increased by 8 percentage 
points to above 28 per cent in 2011. WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 6 
  
  9. This surge in investment is attributable to  the positive growth outlook for the economy and 
the country's sound fiscal accounts, which attracted both domestic and foreign investors.  Foreign 
direct investment (FDI) in Colombia rose from US$6.056 billion in 2006  to US$13.234 billion 
in 2011, a historical peak for Colombia. 
10. The Government is committed to ensuring that public spending is rooted in a sound legal 
foundation of fiscal responsibility.  The Government's  legislative initiatives in that area include the 
enactment of the Tax Adjustment Law, the Fiscal Sustainability Legislative Act and the Fiscal Rule 
Law. 
11. Preliminary figures for the close of the fiscal  year 2011 show a consolidated public sector 
deficit of 2.2 per cent of GDP instead of the pred icted 2.9 per cent.  This good performance was due 
mainly to the improvement in the central government  fiscal balance, to less budgetary spending in the 
regions, and to a decrease in the deficit of the Fuel  Price Stabilization Fund.  The plan for 2012 is to 
continue reducing the consolidated public sector deficit to 1.8 per cent of GDP, and the central 
government deficit to 2.8 per cent of GDP. 
12. In 2011, inflation reached 3.7 per cent, exceeding the midpoint of the long-term target range 
established by the Bank of the Republic (3 per cent ± 1 per cent).  However, this was the lowest rate 
among the leading economies of the region.  According to the Central Bank's inflation expectations survey of March 2012, private operators expect inflation to decrease in 2012 to 3.5 per cent. 
13. Colombia's sovereign debt recovered its i nvestment-grade credit rating by the leading 
risk-rating agencies between March and July 2011, 12 years after losing it.  That rating can be 
expected to be lifted once again:  the rating agency Dominion Bond Rating Service, one of the 
four agencies currently rating Colombia, upgraded the country's outlook from stable to positive in 
February.  It took the same amount of time for the Colombian economy to revert to one-digit unemployment rates, with 9.3 per cent fo r the fourth quarter of 2011 and 10.8 per cent for 
the entire year. 
14. The encouraging trend in employment and the positive results of the Government's 
programmes
1 to increase the coverage and quality of diffe rent basic services, together with the 
introduction of programmes to reduce extreme poverty,  have resulted in a fall in the poverty rate 
from 45 per cent in 2005 to 37.2 per cent in 2010 and 36 per cent between September and December of 2011. 
15. In 2011, GDP grew by 5.9 per cent.  The sectors that contributed most to this growth were:  
mining (14.3 per cent), transport, storage and commun ications (6.9 per cent), trade and hotels (5.9 per 
cent), finance (5.8 per cent), construction (5.7 per cent), the manufacturing industry (3.9 per cent), and 
agriculture (2.2 per cent). 
16. These results show that sectors identified as th e "locomotive" sectors - mining and energy, 
transport, housing, and agriculture and rural de velopment - are performing satisfactorily, and are 
expected to continue to do so throughout 2012.  Petroleum production, in particular, has grown 
steadily over the past months, and with the discove ry of new fields and a policy aimed at attracting 
foreign investment, Colombia is beginning to play  a strategic role on the regional energy stage. 
                                                      
1 Consolidation of the Social Protection System, strengthening of the Social Promotion component, and 
the United Network strategy. Colombia WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 
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  17. The agricultural sector has performed well, w ith a 3 per cent increase in sowing and 4.6 per 
cent increase in agricultural production.  At the same time in the housing sector, there were 181,888 housing starts (cumulative, year-on-year  up to the third quarter of 2011), a historical 
record.  Of these, 85,351 correspond to interest subsidy housing. 
18. On the employment front, the sectors that most contributed to creating new jobs were trade, 
accounting for 26.4 per cent;  services, at 19 per cent;  agriculture, at 18.1 per cent;  and the 
manufacturing industry at 13 per cent. 
(2) C
OMPETITIVENESS AND GROWTH IN PRODUCTIVITY  
19. One of the fundamental strategies for strengt hening competitiveness has been the promotion 
of the so-called "locomotive" sectors.  Innovati on, the strengthening of  competition and business 
formalization are essential to achieving the proposed goals. 
20. Efforts in this area have notably included the strengthening of 71 technological research and 
development centres through which the knowledge a nd innovation needed to transform production 
can be promoted, and the allocation of resources fo r entrepreneurship thro ugh mechanisms such as 
loans to micro, small and medium enterprises gua ranteed by the National Guarantee Fund (FNG) to 
the tune of 7.3 billion Colombian pesos (US$3. 95 billion), and disbursements by the Colombian 
Foreign Trade Bank - Bancoldex - amounting to 2. 96 billion Colombian pesos (US$1.601 billion) for 
the purpose of boosting productivity and competitiven ess of micro, small and medium enterprises. 
21. In December 2010, Law 1429 on Formalization and Employment Creation was enacted for 
the purpose of encouraging formalization at the in itial stages of enterprise creation, increasing the 
benefits and reducing the costs in relation to s ubsequent formalization.  One year after the 
introduction of this law, 290,703 en terprises had taken advantage of so me of the benefits offered, 
and 181,843 new jobs had been registered, exceeding the target for 2011 by 43 per cent. 
22. The Colombian Government has adopted a three-pronged strategy for supporting the 
competitiveness of local producers:  (i) access to financ ial services;  (ii) improvement of the business 
environment;  (iii) private-sector partic ipation in the supply of public goods. 
23. The first prong of the strategy focuses on the pos itive relationship between access to formal 
financial services and economic growth.  One of the first results has been the registration 
of 19,230 agent banks, ensuring access to financial services throughout the country.  At the same 
time, efforts have been made to promote economic and financial education.  In 2011, a number of 
design and innovation workshops were organized  to foster business competitiveness, providing 
non-financial support to 509 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, 92.5 per cent higher than the 
annual target. 
24. The second prong of the strategy consists of improving the business and entrepreneurial 
environment in order to ensure more flexible a nd efficient procedures for setting up and formalizing 
companies.  The implementation of the strategy  of streamlining the formalities and regulations 
involved in the life cycle of a company has been reflected in the World Bank's "Doing Business" 
indicator for Colombia between 2005 and 2010, when it ranked 39th of 183 countries.  With the 
inclusion of the "getting electricity" component in  2011, the general ranking changed and Colombia 
ended up in 47th place. 
25. Colombia's reforms earned it the distinction of "t op ten reformer", and moved it up five places 
in the general rankings to 42nd place.  Thus, Colombia improved in relative terms, and has maintained WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 8 
  
  its third place in Latin America and its status as one of the 12 economies that have most improved 
their ease of doing business ranking.2 
26. The third prong of the strategy targets the active involvement of the private sector in the 
process of overcoming the problems - productive and social - encountered in the different sectors.  
This involves the organization of events to prom ote the public-private dialogue for competitiveness at 
the regional and national levels. 
New innovation-based sectors 
 
27. Spearheading the innovation efforts are a ser ies of measures to transform production in 
knowledge-intensive sectors.  The Government is  seeking to boost its exportable production of 
innovative and high value-added products by developing an action plan which provides for: 
 (a) Tools to help boost competitiveness.  To  that end, the Bancoldex Development Unit 
was created to encourage more entrepreneurs to become involved in high-impact processes emphasizing innovation, job creation and formalization.  The idea is to support technology-based companies, to provide funds for business modernization 
and innovation, to encourage the creation of research and development centres in 
Colombian companies, and to support the development of projects through regional 
clusters. 
  (b) strengthening of the Productive Tran sformation Programme (PTP) launched in 2010
3 
with a view to implementing a focused sectoral economic development model whose 
methodology calls for a common language, a nd public-private alliance as well as 
inter-institutional coordination in defining targets and objectives, the aim being to 
encourage and stimulate the development of  Colombian goods and services in certain 
sectors while ensuring that progress on the domestic front is compatible with integration in the global economy. 
 
  The PTP involves new and emerging sect ors with the potential to become 
"world-class sectors".  Public-private in itiatives have focused on four cross-cutting 
aspects:  (i) human capital formation;  (ii) infrastructure;  (iii) rules and regulations;  (iv) strengthening of industry and promotion. 
 
  A first stage covered eight industrial and services sectors
4, followed by 
four agro-industrial sectors.5  In 2011, four new innova tion sectors were added to the 
programme:  (i) metalworking, iron and steel;  (ii) dairy products;  (iii) fruit and 
vegetables;  (iv) nature tourism.  As a result the value of PTP exports in 2011 rose 
to US$6.308 billion, exceeding th e target of US$5.500 billion. 
 
                                                      
2 Doing Business  - World Bank (2012).  Doing business in a more transparent world:  Comparing 
regulation for domestic firms in 183 economies. 
3 CONPES 3678 of 2010:  Política de Transformación Productiva:  un modelo de desarrollo sectorial 
para Colombia . 
4 Business process outsourcing and offshoring (BPO&O);  software and IT services;  health tourism;  
cosmetics and toiletries;  auto parts and vehicles;  electri cal energy and services and related goods;  textiles and 
clothing;  design and fashion;  and graphic communication industry. 
5 Cocoa, confectionery and chocolate;  palm, other vegetable fats and oils;  shrimp farming;  and 
bovine meat. Colombia WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 
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   (c) Redirecting of investment promotion inst ruments towards free zon es so that they can 
contribute to the development of scientific  and technological capacity and innovation. 
  (d) Coordination of investments in science, technology and innovation with 
entrepreneurial demands.  In the course of 2011, 206 companies benefited from 
instruments for the promotion of innovati on, and eight regional innovation platforms 
were supported by Colciencias  (Colombian Innovation Agency).  Colciencias  is 
working together with the National Learning Service (SENA), the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (MINTIC), Ecopetrol, Cerrejón , 
Codensa-Emgesa , Corpoica  and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, to 
promote the transformation of production in the "locomotive" and strategic sectors. 
  (e) Finally, bilateral cooperation in science a nd technology is being fostered in an effort 
to turn Colombia into a country of knowledge.  To that end, Colombia is endeavouring to strengthen its bilateral c ooperation with the United States, Brazil, 
France, Russia, Germany and Switzerland. 
 
III. TRADE POLICY:  CURRENT SITUATION AND OUTLOOK 
(1) O
VERVIEW  
28. For Colombia, increased internationalization of the economy and the transformation of 
domestic production are fundamental to achieving  greater economic development and reducing 
poverty. 
29. Since the last Trade Policy Review, Colombia has continued with its successful development 
and implementation of a strategy for integration into the global economy.  This strategy has been 
introduced in a context in which a number of different integration processes are taking place 
simultaneously, ranging from slow and complex multilateral integration processes to regional 
integration, the conclusion of a considerable numb er of bilateral agreemen ts, and unilateral market 
opening. 
30. In this context, Colombia's trade policy is focused on improving participation in the value 
chains by increasing and diversifying foreign tr ade in goods and services and foreign direct 
investment flows.  It should be possible, in 2 014, to exceed the 2011 figures for goods and services 
exports.  As a minimum, this should include US$22 billion worth of non-mining/energy exports 
and US$6.2 billion worth of services exports, while the amount of foreign direct investment attracted 
should exceed US$14.4 billion. 
(2) MULTILATERAL , REGIONAL AND BILATERAL DEVELOPMENTS  
31. In the course of 2001, Colombia improved its integration and strengthened its position on the 
international scene.  It managed to:  (i) divers ify its markets by implementing new agreements;  
(ii) strengthen its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean;  (iii) enhance its participation in 
multilateral organizations through acceptance in th e OECD Investment Committee;  (iv) develop 
border integration and development strategies;  (v) st rengthen international cooperation;  (vi) develop 
strategies for rapprochement with Asia and the Pa cific;  (vii) maintain a dynamic and constructive 
presence in the WTO. WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
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  (2.1) Multilateral sphere 
 
32. Colombia continues to participate actively at  the multilateral level, and to stick to its 
commitments under the WTO and the GATT when it comes to applying the agreements and 
developing trade relations with the different partne rs.  It is confident that the multilateral trading 
system can be strengthened and stands ready to co ntinue working constructively to reactivate the 
negotiations.  Colombia strongly supports an early  and balanced completion of the Doha Round on 
the basis of the advances already made, maintaining as the central plank the reform of agriculture. 
33. For the Colombian Government, the ideal forum to advance the trade integration process is 
the WTO.  However, given that the rate at whic h decisions are taken and implemented at the WTO 
has not kept up with the requirements of globalizati on, Colombia has opted for regional and bilateral 
negotiations with its priority partners. 
34. Holding regional and bilateral ne gotiations has become the best available way to complement 
Colombia's serious engagement at the multilateral le vel.  At the Eighth Ministerial Conference, our 
Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism stated  that Colombia was "seek ing open trade within a 
transparent, predictable and inclusive multilateral system, which is complemented by regional and 
bilateral efforts.  We believe in the importa nce of bringing Latin America closer to the 
Asia-Pacific Basin and to Africa". 
(2.2) Regional and bilateral spheres 
 35. At the regional level, the natural inte gration framework for Colombia is the 
Andean Community (CAN).  In July 2011, Colombia assumed the pro tempore  presidency of 
the CAN for one year, and in that capacity, it developed a work plan focusing on four main objectives:  prioritization of the Andean Strategic Agenda;  institutional development;  deepening of 
the subregional market in other areas;  and c ooperation between promotion agencies and development 
banks.  Once that period is over, it will continue to  participate actively and to pursue its efforts to 
strengthen integration. 
36. To date, the CAN has produced decisions re lating to migration statistics, harmonized 
balance-of-payments statistics and financial vulnerability indicators;  the updating of the 
NANDINA Common Nomenclature;  statistics on touris m;  rules for the registration, control, 
marketing and use of veterinary products, and trade facilitation in customs.  Work has also been done 
on:  identifying elements of complementarity and diff erences with a view to future convergence of the 
CAN, MERCOSUR and UNASUR;  fostering regional energy integration to make full use of a region's potential;  and supporting the restructuring of the Andean Integration System. 
37. After six years of inactivity, the Committees of Export Promotion Authorities and of 
Aeronautical Authorities were revived, and a mee ting of the development banks of the CAN countries 
was held. 
38. Aware of the importance of expanding and strengthening its ties with Latin America, 
Colombia decided, as from the beginning of 2011, to push for the Pacific Alliance, an initiative which 
calls for the creation of an area of deep integra tion in which goods, services, capital and persons can 
circulate freely between Colombia, Chile, Peru and Mexico.  Panama and Costa Rica are participating 
as observers.  It is hoped that the framework agreem ent establishing this alliance will be concluded in 
June 2012. Colombia WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 
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  39. The technical work has focused on:  (i) the m ovement of business persons and facilitation of 
transit migration, including police cooperation;  (ii)  trade and integration, including trade facilitation 
and customs cooperation;  (iii) services and capital, including the possibility of integrating the stock 
exchanges;  and (iv) cooperation and dispute settlement mechanisms. 
40. Efforts to diversify bilateral relations began to ta ke concrete form in 2011 with the entry into 
force of the free trade agreements (FTAs) with Sw itzerland and Liechtenstein in the framework of the 
European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in July a nd with Canada in August,  the signature of the 
FTA by the United States Government in October 2011, and the approval by the European Commission of the trade ag reement with the European Union. 
(3) I
NTEGRATION OF PRODUCTION INTO WORLD MARKETS  
41. The development of a comprehensive tr ade policy based on the competitiveness 
of Colombian enterprises abroad, the conditions  governing foreign trade, and foreign direct 
investment (FDI) has produced positive results.  At the end of 2011, the value of exports 
reached US$56.954 billion, 43 per cent higher than 2010.  The main exports were mining and energy 
products (petroleum and petroleum products, co al, ferro-nickel, gold and emeralds) which 
totalled US$40.396 billion - a growth  of 56 per cent - and accounted for 71 per cent of total exports 
during the period.  Exports of goods other than mining and energy products increased by 19 per cent.  
42. Colombia's main trading partners we re the United States (38 per cent), the 
European Union (15.6 per cent), Chile (4 per cent) and China (3.5 per cent).  Of these four countries, 
the sharpest increase in Colombian exports was with Chile (104 per cent) and the 
European Union (77 per cent).  It should be also be noted that in the course of 2011, exports to 
Venezuela increased by 23 per cent, reflecting the improvement in bilateral trade relations between 
the two neighbours after a fall in sales of more than 60 per cent in 2010.  
43. Meanwhile, FDI reached US$13.234 billion in 2011 - 4 per cent of GDP - exceeding the 
2010 figure by 91.8 per cent.  Of this, US$5.083 billion went to the petroleum sector (38.4 per cent of the total).  This was followed by mining and quarry ing, with US$2.621 billion (19.8 per cent of the 
total);  commerce, restaurants and hotels with US$2. 264 billion (17.1 per cent of the total);  transport 
and communication with US$1.421 billion (10.7 per cent of the total);  electricity, water and gas 
with US$585 million (4.4 per cent of the total);  and the manufacturing sector with US$533 million 
(4 per cent of the total).  
44. At the same time, the flow of direct investment from Colombia reached US$8.289 billion, 
26.3 per cent higher than in 2010.  This increase is the result of the new investments in the 
Latin American pensions market and the e xpansion plans in Central and South America.  
45. International integration strategies focus on three main areas:  
(a) The legal environment 
 46. Pursuing its trade agenda, approved by the Hi gher Council for Foreign Trade, Colombia has 
continued with the negotiation of ne w agreements as well as the consolidation of some of the existing 
agreements.  The target for 2014 is to complete the negotiation of a total of 18 trade agreements (nine 
more than currently exist).  The Partial Scope  Agreement with Venezuela, which defines the 
preferential treatment that applies to trade in prod ucts originating in the two countries, has already 
been concluded.  By the end of the first half of  2012, the negotiation of free trade agreements with 
South Korea and Turkey should be completed, and negotiations with Panama  and Israel should be WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 12 
  
  concluded by the end of the year.  The negotiating agenda includes Japan - w ith which a task force 
has been set up to outline the negotiation of an economic association agreement - Costa Rica, the 
Dominican Republic and Australia.  
47. Inclusion in different forums in Asia and the P acific continues to be one of Colombia's goals.  
In 2011, a Colombian delegation toured Asia, vis iting members of APEC and ASEAN in order to 
progress towards membership in APEC, and to estab lish a mechanism for political dialogue with the 
member countries of ASEAN and conclude tr ade and bilateral cooperation agreements.  
48. Thanks to these efforts, Colombia (i) was invited as a non-member country to attend the 
APEC working groups on tourism, SMEs, ener gy, mining, telecommunications, and customs 
procedures;  (ii) participated in the APEC Busin ess Summit where it reiterated its interest in joining 
APEC once the moratorium was lifted;  (iii) became regional coordinator of the Forum for 
East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) fo r 2011-2013, with the challenge of finding new 
horizons for FEALAC and organizing the first Business Forum in 2012.  
49. Of the 18 agreements that Colombia aims to  have negotiated by 2014, those with the 
United States, the European Union, Venezuela, Pa nama, Korea, Turkey and Israel should be fully 
operational by the end of this year.  If we add th e agreements with Canada and with Switzerland and 
Lichtenstein in the framework of EFTA, which ente red into force recently, the total number of fully 
operational agreements will be 13.  This means that  Colombian exports will have preferential access 
to a market of 1.512 billion people.  
50. On the investment front, the negotiation of in ternational investment agreements, whether 
Reciprocal Investment Promotion and Protection Ag reements or as part of a more comprehensive 
agreement - for instance the sections on investment in the trade agreements - is  central to Colombia's 
strategy of minimizing legal risks and improving the investment climate.  
51. Colombia hopes to have 20 international i nvestment agreements in force by 2014, 
i.e. 14 more than the six currently in force.  Th e new countries with which it hopes to establish stable 
investment regulations are;  India, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Panama, Korea, 
Kuwait, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, an d two others for which negotiations have not yet 
started.  
52. Approximately 65 per cent of inward fore ign investment in Colombia comes from the 
countries with which it has, or is currently negotiatin g, an investment agreem ent, while 66 per cent of 
Colombian investment abroad is in countries with which it has, or is currently negotiating, an 
investment agreement.  The planned negotiations should therefore enable Colombia to achieve the 
right balance between the benefits of FDI in the country and the cost that could arise from the 
possibility granted to foreign investors of filing la wsuits against Colombia in international courts.  
53. Worth noting in this connection is the creati on of the National Legal Defence Agency, which 
began to operate as a Special Administrative Unit in March 2012.  Its role is to coordinate, organize 
and structure the country's defence, and where possibl e, to avoid damage to the State's assets while at 
the same time promoting respect for fundamental rights. 
54. At the same time, taking advantage of the recent momentum, efforts are being made to 
formulate a public policy for Colombian in vestment abroad, which in 2011 amounted 
to US$8.289 billion.  The plan is to create mechan isms to help Colombian investors to enter foreign 
markets and position themselves in strategic sectors in which they are competitive.  This also involves Colombia WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 
 Page 13 
 
 
  identifying any obstacles that are currently pr eventing Colombian investors from entering other 
markets. 
55. As part of the general strategy aimed at im proving the investment climate with a view to 
acceding to OECD, coordinated by the President of the Republic, in 2011 the Ministry of Commerce, 
Industry and Tourism set out to adhere to th e Declaration on International Investment and 
Multinational Enterprises and hence to become a permanent member of OECD Investment 
Committee. 
56. Accordingly, in October 2011, Colombia's inv estment policy was subjected to a Peer Review 
with the OECD's Investment Group.  The outco me was successful and the Group recommended that 
the General Council invite Colombia to adhere to the OECD Declaration on International Investment 
and Multinational Enterprises.  Colombia formally s ubscribed to the Declaration in December 2011.  
The OECD's final report on investment policy in Colombia was revised and is currently being 
translated into Spanish.  It will be made  available during the first half of 2012. 
(b) Management and promotion 
 57. The Colombian government is committed to refo rming its programs and initiatives in order to 
manage and take full advantage of the better access conditions available to it under the trade 
agreements signed and in force.  This will involve activities such as organizing the administrative 
commissions as well as information and export and inv estment facilitation seminars.  Efforts are also 
being made to design and implement a policy to support Colombian investment abroad, as mentioned 
earlier, and a programme to facilitate and promote services exports. 
(c) Trade facilitation and institution building 
 
58. Colombia has undertaken to facilitate forei gn trade formalities and procedures, to keep 
improving the Single Foreign Trade Window, to provid e for simultaneous inspection of goods and the 
adoption of non-intrusive technology for these proces ses, and to ensure digitization and recognition in 
other countries of import and export docum ents such as certificates of origin. 
59. Significant progress has also been made in rati onalizing the tariff structure, in developing 
software to facilitate access to tr ade defence instruments, and in m onitoring commitments under trade 
and investment agreements.  These are measures that improve the transparency of trade transactions. 
60. The tariff reform has aimed to reduce aver age tariff dispersion, streamline customs 
administration and bolster the Government's effort s to prevent the peso from becoming too strong. 
61. Thanks to the measures that were adopted, the average tariff was brought down from 12.2 per 
cent to 8.3 per cent, which unquestionably led to a reduction of the anti-export bias and an improvement in the competitiveness of domestic pr oduction by substantially lowering tariffs on raw 
materials and capital goods. 
62. Inter-institutional coordination on the part of both the customs and health authorities has been 
a key to progress in removing the obstacles blocking access by Colombian exporters to other markets. 
63. In this connection, the Colombian Customs St atute was specially altered to be bring its 
procedures into line with the current dynamics of fo reign trade.  Measures were adopted to streamline 
customs operations, with a guarantee that the interna tional trade facilitation standards contained in the 
Framework of Standards of the World Cust oms Organization (WCO) would be applied. WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 14 
  
  64. The new Customs Statute seeks to ensure that cu stoms users comply with  their obligations by 
introducing information technology, non-intrusive in spection equipment, and security devices to help 
reduce the time required and the operational cost s while strengthening control mechanisms to 
counteract illegal practices. 
65. Progress has been made in the health field as well, with improved coordination among the 
competent authorities in an effort to treat th e requirements for domestic production and imported 
products in a comprehensive and balanced manner,  and technical cooperation programmes to achieve 
greater recognition of technical standards and re gulations in the export destination countries. 
66. It is worth noting in this connection that in 201 0, the National Institute for the Surveillance of 
Food and Drugs (INVIMA) was designated by the Pa n-American Health Orga nization as a reference 
National Regulatory Authority (NRA) for Latin Amer ica.  Only the health agencies of Argentina, 
Brazil and Cuba have thus far rece ived this certification.  On the basis of this recognition, the 
four agencies concluded a cooperation agreement with each other and with other agencies to 
strengthen and recognize local capacities, raise the region's regulatory standards and practices to 
world level, and ensure that they are known  as internationally reco gnized good practices. 
67. Similarly, it should be noted that Colomb ia has been making progress as regards the 
improvement of its health status.  Proof of this is that it received OIE recognition as a country free of 
foot and mouth disease with vaccination in 2009 and as a country with a "negligible risk" of bovine 
spongiform encephalopathy last month.  In ad dition, Colombia implements an institutional 
strengthening programme aimed at ensuring effectiv e technical and scientific evaluation in sanitary 
risk assessment.  Work has also begun on crea ting a single window to simplify and streamline 
agricultural input registration procedures.  
68. Moreover, the Global Competition Review (GCR) , which administers the only world ranking 
of competition authorities, has just nominated the S upervisory Authority for Industry and Trade (SIC) 
for its annual award in the category "best compet ition authority in America", together with its 
counterparts in United States, Mexico and Chile.  This  is a tribute to the SIC' s successful efforts in the 
area of protection of free competition during 2011. 
IV. CONCLUSIONS 
69. The sound economic growth achieved over the past  few years, the fall in the rate of 
unemployment and in the consolidated public sector deficit, the success in maintaining the lowest 
level of inflation in the region, and the figures for goods and services exports and for foreign direct 
investment provide clear evidence of the Colo mbian Government's commitment to boosting the 
growth rate in order to create more jobs, re duce poverty and bring greater prosperity to all 
Colombians. 
70. According to private-sector economic analysts, in 2012 most of the countries of 
Latin America will grow at a slower rate than in  2011 owing to the slowdown in the world economy 
and the fall in international commodity prices.  Colombia, however, should grow faster than the 
average for the economies of the region, and should in  fact achieve one of the highest growth rates. 
71. The Government's growth forecast for this year is approximately 5 per cent.  The challenge is 
to continue working to achieve faster growth, to create new jobs so that unemployment can be 
reduced to a single digit, and to move forward with  the formalization of the economy.  At the same 
time, it is hoped that infrastructure can be improve d through productive investment of the resources Colombia WT/TPR/G/265/Rev.1 
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  from the new royalty distribution scheme, from privat e sector contributions and from the efficient use 
of resources from the country's general budget. 
72. Efforts will also be made to maintain the recovery of the industrial sector accomplished 
thanks to the revival of the economy and of foreig n trade, the momentum achi eved in areas such as 
construction, the availability of credit, and the effo rts and achievements of co mpanies in the areas of 
innovation, internationalization, marketing, and di versification of products and export destinations. 
73. In other words, the challenge is to consolidat e Colombia's integration in international goods 
and services markets in order to be able to particip ate successfully in global value chains and to 
continue improving the country's competitiveness thr ough development of infrastructure, education, 
formalization, information technologies and innovation. 
74. To achieve all of this, the government will con tinue to work resolutely to strengthen the 
country's institutions and improve its economic and trade policies so that it can offer its own citizens 
and foreigners a friendly investment and business e nvironment with a view, ultimately, to providing 
higher standards of living. 
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