Colombian industry requires renegotiation of FTAs: ACOPI Bogotá – Cundinamarca

February 25, 2023

In the absence of a public policy for Colombian industry, ACOPI Bogotá - Cundinamarca welcomes the national government’s reindustrialization proposal and points out three elements that the government has not contemplated.

Regarding the reindustrialization policy, presented in recent days by the national government, ACOPI Bogotá – Cundinamarca pointed out three aspects that the policy does not consider and that become key elements to face the enormous backwardness of the Colombian industry.

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This stated its executive director María Alejandra Osorio:

Acopi Bogotá – Cundinamarca has insisted for several years on the need for Colombia to establish an industrial policy that can promote national production, recover the domestic market and develop the country’s productive forces. In this sense, we welcome the reindustrialization policy being promoted by the current national government.

However, we would like to make a few observations on this betting strategy:

First: Talking about industrialization and decarbonization simultaneously is a contradiction. Colombia contributes less than 0.6% of global emissions, which is marginal, and manufacturing contributes less than 9% of these emissions in Colombia.

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In this sense, the priority of an industrialization policy should focus on the generation of wealth and added value. Furthermore, the role of fossil fuels is highly relevant in the industrialization process.

Second: Some programs were known, such as taking up the already known Zasca [reindustrialization centers], financing lines and public procurement. However, these programs seem to abandon the need to renegotiate free trade agreements, specifically with countries with which we have a large trade deficit, as well as the possibility of establishing tariffs for products that have ceased to be produced in the country or that have great difficulties due to the high costs of the country and also for competing, in the international arena, against products that are subsidized by their countries of origin. Third: We are awaiting the elaboration and presentation of the CONPES that was announced by Minister Umaña, as these programs should have specific execution times and possibilities of analysis in the following space.