Colombia is the United States’ third largest trading partner in Latin America, and the United States is Colombia’s number one trade and investment partner. Colombia has the fourth largest economy in Latin America, after Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, and the third largest population with approximately 52.7 million inhabitants. The country boasts five major commercial hubs: Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla, and Cartagena. In contrast to many Latin American countries with few major cities, Colombia offers U.S exporters access to multiple commercial centers, each of which has its own American Chamber of Commerce. While these cities and many other secondary cities offer unique market opportunities, they are close enough via air routes that it is common for U.S. firms to have one partner (agent, distributer, or representative) cover the entire country. 

Colombia is a country of micro and small businesses. According to the Ministry of Labor, these businesses represent more than 90% of the national productive sector and 80% of employment. Colombia’s National Department of Statistics reported unemployment averaged 8.8% in July 2025. The country has a relatively low English proficiency level with most day-to-day business being conducted in Spanish. In 2024, the OECD released its “Economic Surveys: Colombia 2024” report showing that Colombia has a high rate of labor informality at 56%, generally meaning undocumented employment without labor protections and other employment and retirement benefits.

Although the OECD classifies Colombia as a high-income country, it is also the most unequal country in Latin America. This is especially evident in the rural versus urban divide, where smaller and rural Colombian towns often lack access to potable water, developed infrastructure, and access to quality healthcare.

The OECD released its latest economic survey of Colombia in September 2024. The report says that inflation is slowly declining but is still high. It also notes that investment has been decreasing since the end of the commodity boom in the mid-2010s, which is limiting the country’s potential growth. Colombia’s first left-leaning government has an ambitious agenda to diversify the economy, promote the energy transition and regional convergence, but medium-term growth prospects hinge on maintaining Colombia’s strong macroeconomic framework and the outcome of the government’s slate of ambitious political reforms. 

U.S.-Colombia Relations 

The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA), in force since May 2012, eliminated 90% of duties on products traded between countries, resulting in positive net growth in exports for both the United States and Colombia over its 13-year history. Initially U.S. exports to Colombia had a strong boost, but the growth rate, though still positive, has slowed in recent years due to a combination of factors. Relative to the Colombian peso’s long-run average, the peso has been under pressure due to Colombia’s trade deficit and political uncertainty.  Thanks to the CTPA, Colombia is the top destination for U.S. agricultural exports in South America and the third largest destination in the Western Hemisphere. In 2024, U.S. agricultural export to Colombia hit a record $4.5 billion, making it the fifth largest export market for U.S. agricultural goods worldwide. 

In 2022, Colombia was designated by the United States as a Major Non-NATO Ally, the third country in Latin America with this distinction. This increased opportunities for security assistance and trade. 

In 2024, U.S. total goods trade with Colombia were an estimated $36.7 billion. U.S. goods exports to Colombia in 2024 were $19.0 billion, up 7.7% ($1.4 billion) from 2023. U.S. goods imports from Colombia in 2024 totaled $17.7 billion, up 9.8% ($1.6 billion) from 2023. The U.S. goods trade surplus with Colombia was $1.3 billion in 2024, a 13.9% decrease ($218.1 million) over 2023. In 2024, bilateral trade, including goods and services, reached $54.8 billion, marking a 9.8% increase from the previous year.

As of 2025, Colombia is the ninth fastest growing source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the United States. In 2022, the last year for which there is complete data, Colombia’s FDI to the United States supported 9,700 U.S. jobs in Colombian-owned businesses, $268 million in research and development spending, and $138 million in U.S. goods exported by majority Colombian-owned firms operating in the United States. The top six industry sectors Colombia makes investments in the United States are business services in first, building materials in second, plastics in third, software & IT service in fourth, food and beverage in fifth, and consumer products in sixth. 

Political Environment

In June 2022, Colombia elected the first left leaning president in the history of the country. President Gustavo Petro has prioritized legislative efforts to enact tax, education, health, pension and labor reforms, as well as ambitious plans to transition to clean energy. However, his administration has not implemented the legal and policy changes it deems essential, such as health and labor reforms. In 2023, country-wide local elections took place and Petro’s coalition Pacto Historico won governorships in just two of Colombia’s 32 departments. The election results were widely seen as a rebuke of the Petro Administration. Economic challenges, political scandals, and internal divisions have affected the Petro Administration’s ambitious reform agenda. 

In late 2024 and 2025, as the Petro Administration faced increased legislative obstacles, President Petro has used presidential decrees more frequently, including for passing the 2024 budget, a first since 1904. In 2025, the Colombian Congress passed Petro’s labor reform aimed at restoring workers’ rights lost in the early 2000s. Petro continues to push for an increased state presence in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sectors. He remains committed to his “Total Peace” policy, seeking negotiated agreements with illegal armed groups, though recent surges in violence and setbacks in peace talks have challenged this approach. Violence between rival armed groups has surged, territorial control by U.S. designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations and criminal groups and factions has expanded, and forms of violence like child recruitment and extortion have increased, especially in rural areas. 

The partnership between the United States and Colombia is long-standing, collaborative, and committed to three shared objectives – ensuring our people are safer, more secure, and more prosperous. Working together with Colombia, the United States is focused on expanding our economies through fair bilateral trade, fighting drug trafficking and taking down violent criminal organizations, deepening defense cooperation, and ending the regional crisis of illegal immigration. Despite some differences and challenges, Colombia remains an essential U.S. partner in Latin America. 

Visit the State Department’s website for background on the country’s political and economic environment.