Commercial relation

What does access to the EU market mean for Colombia?

The EU is the world's most successful regional integration process with a single market for the free movement of goods, services, persons and capital. The EU is the world's biggest importer of goods and services with a GDP of US$ 17,552 billion in 2011 , accounting for 25.8% of the World GDP. The EU has 503 million inhabitants and 27 member states (28 in 2013 with the accession of Croatia), home to 7% of the world’s population. Its trade with the rest of the world accounts for around 20% of global exports and imports, thus making it the biggest trade player.

During the first six months of 2012, the EU imported 4.5% more manufactured goods in relation to the same period of the previous year. The EU is also the biggest importer of agricultural goods, surpassing the imports of Australia, the US, Japan, Canada and New Zealand combined.

This trade bloc has an average GDP per capita of US$ 34,848, four times that of Colombia (US$ 7,067). Likewise, the EU ranks first in both inbound and outbound international investments.

In 2011, private consumption in the EU was US$ 10,191 billion, 179 times the total of Colombian exports in 2011 (US$ 56.9 billion).

In terms of infrastructure, the EU is unparalleled: it has 65,000 km of motorways and some of the busiest international airports in the world. The EU is also the birth place of high-speed rail, and enjoys the largest network of high-speed railway tracks, 6,200 km, and the highest number of high-speed trains (1,050 out of 1,737 in the world). We should not forget the competitive costs for the transport of goods within this single market. Likewise, it is one of the leaders in state of the art technology in transport, the environment, telecommunications, logistics and oil exploration. Imports of these European products may have a positive impact on the growth of the Colombian economy.

Agricultural and industrial work has declined over the last 50 years, while there is an ever-growing number of workers in the service sector, thus opening up export possibilities for Colombia in that sector.

According to an independent impact study conducted by the European Union, the implementation of the Trade Agreement in Colombia would have a positive impact on its GDP and Colombian exports to Europe would see a 63% increase in the years ahead.