DESPITE the request of unions, experts and analysts not to raise tariffs, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Germán Umaña, assured that Colombia will increase this type of tax and adopt anti-dumping measures, in order to face the multilateral crisis that is presenting worldwide.
This determination of the Government was included in the National Development Plan, which establishes that “the national Government will promote the commercial defense of the nation through a policy of commercial remedies and intelligent tariffs. This, in order to achieve a balance in the conditions of competition for national production against imports and the defense of the branches of production affected by unfair practices and maneuvers contrary to international free trade, food sovereignty and proper functioning From the market”.
The text indicates that “the national government will be authorized to adopt commercial measures of a restrictive or promotional nature, for reasons of national security, including food sovereignty and protection of the industry and the market.”
Likewise, the head of the commercial portfolio said that “when the president talks about ‘smart tariff’, he is saying that in the face of subsidies from developed countries and to the extent that we do not have the money to give all those subsidies, we will have to apply all the measures that exist in the international legal framework in commercial defense”.
Minister Umaña mentioned that these actions also seek for our country to have mechanisms to face a crisis of multilateralism and globalization.
evaluations
The official specified that he evaluated the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) that are currently in place with different countries, in order to guarantee that there is a balance of benefits.
“The issues of subsidies and investments in Colombia were discussed to integrate nationally and strengthen food sovereignty, food security, agribusiness and production,” stressed.
In the same way, he stated that “there is a golden opportunity for the country, because in this energy transition we have all the offer of biodiversity, air, water, multiculture, traditional knowledge, wealth and the beauty of Colombia, which hopefully will be consolidated with the peace process that is being managed”.
In that order, he announces that he will meet with delegates from the United States Department of Commerce, to review the FTA that is currently in place with that country and seek a balance in its results.
The unions and analysts had already opposed this measure. The executive president of the Colombian American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), María Claudia Lacouture, assured that if tariffs are increased in our country, it could lead to an increase in the prices of products for Colombians.
Retaliation
“If tariffs are increased for certain products from abroad, prices for Colombians will increase and, on the other hand, the countries of origin have the possibility of taking proportional measures and, in turn, imposing tariffs on Colombian products in those markets”held.
In this sense, he said that this proposal goes against the free trade agreements agreed with other countries, where one of the main benefits is having a 0% tariff.
the president of the National Association of Exporters (Analdex), Javier Díaz Molina. He assured that he is concerned about the ‘smart tariff’ that comes in Article 210, which also establishes trade defense.
As explained by the union leader, with this the Government brings a proposal to be able to raise tariffs or manage them for reasons of national security, which would allow it to not comply with international commitments, particularly those of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“It is something similar to what the United States did in its trade war with China, when it raised tariffs for steel and aluminum and argued for national security and that is why it was able to do so above what was stipulated by the WTO,” he pointed out.
Díaz Molina assured that the fear that he gives to the country’s exporters is that the economy will end up closing.
“I think that the issue of national security should not be the argument. The Government today has the powers to move tariffs and to activate trade defense mechanisms. I don’t think you need national security reasons to have smart tariffs.”he emphasized.