AmCham Colombia has argued that the country stands at a turning point: It can continue to be viewed primarily as a supplier of raw materials, or it can reposition itself as a “friendly partner” and strategic ally of the United States in an era of geopolitical fragmentation, supply chain restructuring, and renewed U.S. attention toward the Western Hemisphere.
The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) is a binational business association that promotes trade, investment, and economic cooperation between member countries. In Colombia, AmCham represents a broad network of companies and acts as a bridge between the private sector and policymakers on both sides of the U.S.–Colombia relationship.
This argument is rooted in a broader global context. As tensions deepen between the United States and other major powers, Washington has begun to reconsider how and where it sources critical goods, services, and strategic inputs.
The Western Hemisphere, once taken for granted, is again becoming central to U.S. foreign and economic policy. Within this framework, Colombia’s geographic location, historical ties with the U.S., and diversified economy give it a unique opportunity to upgrade its role.
However, AmCham warns that this opportunity is not automatic and depends largely on political choices, institutional strengthening, and a deliberate shift away from confrontational rhetoric toward pragmatic cooperation.
With these arguments, AmCham makes President Petro’s confrontational rhetoric be seen as harmful for Colombia and distancing the country from becoming a potential ally of the United States.
From confrontational discourse to strategic credibility: Why Colombia’s political tone shapes its global relevance
AmCham emphasizes that political signaling matters as much as formal policy when it comes to building trust with strategic partners. In recent years, fluctuating messages from Colombia’s national government toward the United States have created uncertainty among investors and diplomats alike.
Public discourse that frames Washington primarily as a source of tension, rather than as a partner, can weaken Colombia’s position precisely at a time when the U.S. is looking to consolidate reliable relationships in its own hemisphere.
The organization argues that becoming a preferred ally does not require political submission or a loss of autonomy. Instead, it requires coherence, predictability, and a long-term vision that transcends electoral cycles.
For Colombia, this means recognizing that geopolitical relevance is no longer built solely through military cooperation or diplomatic declarations, but through the ability to consistently deliver on commitments, provide legal stability for foreign investment, and align strategic objectives with those of key partners. A pragmatic diplomatic tone, in this view, is less about ideology and more about signaling reliability in a competitive global environment.
The changing U.S. security and foreign policy doctrine also plays an important role. What some analysts describe as the “Trump Corollary” reflects a broader bipartisan shift in Washington toward prioritizing regional security, migration control, and the protection of supply chains.
Colombia, given its experience in security cooperation and its historic role in counter-narcotics efforts, is already seen as a strategic player. But AmCham warns that relying solely on legacy cooperation is not enough. Without an updated narrative and a proactive diplomatic strategy, Colombia risks losing ground to other countries that are positioning themselves more aggressively as indispensable partners to the United States.
Nearshoring, energy transition and critical Iinfrastructure: The economic foundations of a modern bilateral partnership
Beyond politics and security, AmCham identifies concrete economic fronts where Colombia can make itself indispensable to U.S. strategic interests. The first is nearshoring and “friendshoring,” processes through which U.S. companies relocate or diversify supply chains toward geographically closer and politically reliable countries.
According to AmCham, for Colombia, this represents a historic opportunity to move beyond raw material exports and integrate more deeply into manufacturing, agro-industrial processing, and high-value services tied to the U.S. market.
Estimates from the Inter-American Development Bank suggest that nearshoring could generate up to US$78 billion in additional annual exports across Latin America and the Caribbean, of which US$64 billion would come from goods and US$14 billion from services.
For Colombia, from the organization’s standpoint, these figures are more than abstract statistics, they represent a pathway to industrialization, job creation, and technological upgrading. However, capturing this opportunity requires investments in human capital, logistics, regulatory simplification, and a clear industrial policy that encourages value-added production rather than discouraging it through unpredictable rules.
The second key front is the energy transition. AmCham argues that Colombia can play a crucial role in the U.S.-led shift toward cleaner and more resilient energy systems by becoming a trusted supplier of critical minerals. Copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum, and metallurgical coal are all resources in which the country has significant potential.
These materials are essential for electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, batteries, and industrial decarbonization. Yet, Colombia faces structural limitations in this area, primarily due to limited geological exploration and the absence of stable, long-term state decisions that would allow responsible, large-scale mining development.
The challenge is not simply to extract more resources, but to develop an ecosystem of transparency, environmental management, and community engagement that can make Colombian mining internationally competitive and socially legitimate. Without this framework, U.S. companies are unlikely to see Colombia as a reliable long-term source of strategic minerals, regardless of geological potential.
AmCham’s message is that the window of opportunity will not remain open indefinitely, other countries are already moving to fill the demand for critical materials, and hesitation today could translate into permanent marginalization tomorrow.
The third front is security in its modern, multidimensional sense. Under the logic of the U.S. National Security Strategy 2025 concept of “Enlist and Expand,” Washington is seeking to deepen cooperation with certain partners in the Western Hemisphere. In this vision, Colombia is expected to strengthen not only traditional military capacities but also cybersecurity infrastructure, financial intelligence systems to combat money laundering, and joint operations against drug trafficking and transnational criminal networks.
Equally important is Colombia’s maritime role. Strengthening naval and coast guard operational capacities in both the Pacific and Caribbean is seen as essential to protecting trade routes, combating illegal fishing and smuggling, and supporting humanitarian and disaster response capabilities. AmCham frames these efforts as mutually reinforcing with economic cooperation: Without secure sea lanes and resilient digital infrastructure, trade and investment cannot flourish sustainably, says the organization.
Infrastructure represents the fourth and perhaps most visible front. Colombia’s geographic position gives it a natural advantage as a bridge between South America, Central America, and North America. However, this advantage remains underutilized due to persistent gaps in port capacity, intermodal transport, and regulatory coordination.
AmCham highlights the need to develop modern ports on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts and to connect them through efficient road, rail, and logistics corridors that can serve as reliable arteries for international trade.
What Colombia must overcome, how it can seize the US opportunity, and why becoming a ‘friendly partner’ could redefine its economic future
The transition from supplier to strategic partner is not primarily a technical challenge, it is, above all, a political and institutional one. Colombia’s main obstacles today, highlighted by AmCham, are policy inconsistency, regulatory uncertainty, and deep political polarization that makes long-term agreements difficult to sustain.
Investors, including those from the United States, require stability over decades, not just over a single presidential term. Frequent changes in tax regimes, environmental licensing rules, and sectoral priorities have made it difficult for Colombia to present itself as a predictable destination for large-scale, long-term projects.
Maximizing opportunities with the United States requires a disciplined national strategy that goes beyond reactive diplomacy. This means clearly identifying priority sectors, aligning education and training systems with the needs of nearshoring industries, and building a narrative of strategic convergence rather than confrontation.
From a passive recipient to an active architect
Colombia would need to position itself not as a passive recipient of U.S. decisions, but as an active architect of shared solutions to supply chain vulnerabilities, energy security, and regional stability.
Being a “friendly partner” to the United States, in practical terms, implies more than political goodwill. It means offering legal certainty, transparent institutions, and strategic alignment in areas that Washington considers vital to its national interests.
It also implies the capacity to act as a stabilizing force in the region, contributing to shared security goals, supporting democratic governance, and providing reliable access to goods, services, and critical resources. For Colombia, the benefits of achieving this status are potentially transformative.
Economically, a deeper and more mature partnership with the U.S. could translate into higher levels of foreign direct investment, more sophisticated industrial ecosystems, better access to technology, and greater integration into global value chains.
Politically, it could elevate Colombia’s voice in regional and global forums, allowing it to influence, rather than merely react to, major strategic decisions. Socially, the expansion of high-value industries associated with nearshoring and clean energy could generate better-paid jobs, reduce informality, and create more inclusive growth.
However, the risks of inaction are equally significant. If Colombia fails to adapt its discourse, strengthen its institutions, and modernize its infrastructure, it may be left behind as other countries in the region capture the nearshoring boom and strategic mineral supply opportunities. In a world where geopolitics and economics are increasingly intertwined, neutrality by default can easily become irrelevance by design.
Ultimately, AmCham’s message is both a warning and an invitation. The window for Colombia to reinvent its relationship with the United States is open, but it is not guaranteed to remain so. Becoming a preferred and “friendly” partner is not about abandoning national interests, but about redefining them in a world where strategic alliances shape economic destiny. For Colombia, the choice lies between remaining a peripheral supplier in global markets or stepping forward as a central, trusted player in the emerging architecture of the Western Hemisphere.