Colombian Peace Presents New Opportunities

From Tradeology, the official blog of the International Trade Administration

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Building Peace: Colombian Peace Presents New U.S. Business Opportunities
By Steven Armendariz, Colombia Desk at the International Trade Administration

After decades of civil unrest, the Colombian government reached a ceasefire with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on June 23, 2016. The ceasefire deal was the last major step in reaching a final peace agreement, expected by the second half of August, according to Colombia’s Minister of Post-Conflict, Rafael Pardo. Peace is expected to bring many benefits to Colombia, including improved rule of law, security, and increased investment. This improved business environment has the potential to open a number of new opportunities for to U.S. companies.

The U.S. is an important trade and investment partner for Colombia. U.S.-based companies have been exporting an increased number products to Colombia since the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement went into effect in 2012. U.S. goods exports to Colombia stand at $16.3 billion in 2015, having grown 14% since the implementation of the agreement – compared to just 1.2% growth in U.S. goods exports worldwide over the same period. This makes Colombia our third largest export destination in Latin America.

Two industries that have made large gains are agricultural products and manufactured goods. Agriculture exports have doubled to $1.3 billion, and manufacturing exports grew 9.8% for a total of $14.5 billion in 2015.

Read full post (via blog.trade.gov)

• ​U.S. goods exports to Colombia stand at $16.3 billion in 2015
  
  
• ​Agriculture exports have doubled to $1.3 billion, and manufacturing exports grew 9.8% for a total of $14.5 billion in 2015​
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• Two-year, $500 million Colombia Siembra program is expected to increase agriculture growth in four years from 2.3% to 6.2% by 2018