Border Trade Between Colombia and Venezuela Increases

Border trade between Colombia and Venezuela increased by 144.5% in two months. The Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism celebrated the increase in binational trade through the Simon Bolivar, Francisco de Paula Santander, and Atanasio Girardot bridges in the Norte de Santander region.

In January 2024, trade with Venezuela reached US$62.3 million, an increase of 31.4 percent compared to January 2023. In the first two months of the year, trade through the three bridges more than doubled compared to a year ago. Between January and February, trade across this border registered US$55.5 million.

Relationship recovery

Since Gustavo Petro became president of Colombia, in August 2022, the recovery of political relations with the neighboring country has been announced. In 2019, during the presidency of Ivan Duque, Venezuela decided to rupture after Colombia’s recognition of Juan Guaido as “interim president”, an opposition political attempt that ended in resounding failure four years later, although Guaido never had effective power in the country.

In reality, the border was closed for seven years starting in August 2015, when Nicolas Maduro claimed that the reason for its closure was the fight against smuggling, drug trafficking and paramilitaries. The unilateral closure, however, did not help in the fight against crime. According to Colombian authorities, the number of criminal gangs operating in the area has increased from three to 13 in recent years.

Likewise, the border closure led to a notable impoverishment of the populations that, like the city of Cucuta, live from the historical trade with the neighboring country. The border was finally reopened in March of last year.

According to data from this portfolio, trade with Venezuela through this border reached US$310.5 million between September 26, 2022 and December 30, 2023, with merchandise totaling 301,527 tons.

2024: Favorable projections on the border

President Gustavo Petro himself projected what will be the commercial activity with Venezuela for 2024, after his recent visit to the neighboring country. He assured that this year “exports to Venezuela may reach US$ 1.2 billion of exports from Colombia to Venezuela and US$ 200 or 300 million of imports from Venezuela to Colombia”.

Petro said that this behavior of the bilateral trade balance “has helped us to mitigate the bulky trade deficit that the country had. It has been, let’s say, of importance for the Colombian economic reactivation. It could be much more if we manage to lift the sanctions”.

He also commented that an energy agreement was consolidated, which consists of the possibility that “Ecopetrol may exploit gas in the border near Colombia, in the Colombian-Venezuelan border, and oil in high-quality conditions, closer to the border of Norte de Santander. And….we can export electric energy, hopefully clean, through La Guajira and Tachira”.

“Complementary economies”

For his part, the Minister of Commerce, Germán Umaña, stated that “we continue to work together with the authorities of the two countries to consolidate this trade, investment and tourism relationship. Our interest is to overcome the gaps, ensure adequate socioeconomic development, and (to ensure) that citizens on both sides of the border benefit from this process”.

He added that the Colombian government, together with Venezuela, will work on complementary production in industry, tourism and investment, focusing on three specific aspects: complementation between Tachira and Norte de Santander in the African palm and livestock sectors, a productive industrial and service agreement, which will promote investment in border areas, and finally, complementary tourism.

He stressed that opportunities are on both sides of the border. “We are complementary economies, which can work through strategic alliances. We will continue working to advance the Economic Justice proposed by the Government of President Gustavo Petro”, concluded the minister.