Colombia seeks a way to break its commercial dependence on the United States
Analysts say that to diversify exports, the Petro government must modernize outdated customs processes and combat the lack of interest among business owners
The brief diplomatic crisis between the United States and Colombia last weekend exposed the South American country’s deep dependence on its northern partner. Donald Trump’s threat to raise tariffs by 25% on Colombian products would have affected one in three foreign sales made by Colombia each year. Now the emergency is over, this scenario has created an opportunity for the government led by Gustavo Petro to diversify export destinations, with China and Europe as the main focuses, according to experts. Even so, they say, there are several obstacles to overcome, such as the historical lack of interest or Colombia’s antiquated customs processes.
