“Japan is looking at Colombia again, and we are ready to capitalize on that confidence.”

— Mauricio Gómez Amín, Colombia’s minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism

Gómez Amín, who leads the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MinCIT), met separately with Toshiro Ino, Japan’s state minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and with Hiroshi Nanbu, president of Business Planning and Operation at Toyota. The trip is part of President Abelardo de la Espriella’s administration’s push to attract long-term Japanese investment and generate employment.

With Ino, Gómez Amín advanced an agenda to reactivate and conclude the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Colombia and Japan, an accord intended to open Colombian agroindustry to Japanese investment and technology transfer. The two countries began negotiating the EPA in December 2012. 16 of its 18 chapters have been agreed, but two — rules of origin and market access — remain unresolved, and the talks were suspended in 2021, according to Colombia’s embassy in Tokyo. El Tiempo reported that Colombia and Japan reactivated the negotiation in September 2025, when then-President Gustavo Petro and then-Trade Minister Diana Marcela Morales Rojas met their Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of Expo Osaka 2025.

“Japan is looking at Colombia again, and we are ready to capitalize on that confidence,” Gómez Amín said.

The Toyota meeting revisited a relationship of more than five decades. The first Toyota vehicles reached Colombia in 1959, and the company formalized a local distributor in 1967. Sofasa, the assembler that has long built Renault vehicles in Envigado, Antioquia, signed a letter of intent with Toyota in 1989; assembly of Land Cruisers and Hilux pickups began in 1992 and continued for 17 years, before Toyota exited its stake in the plant. In Tokyo, the Colombian government invited Toyota to expand its footprint into the assembly of hybrid and electric vehicles, along with charging infrastructure and the development of local suppliers.

The government describes the push as an effort to draw on Colombia’s talent, strategic location and existing conditions to build a regional production and investment platform. Gómez Amín said the goal is to put Bogotá “on the world map of investments, strengthening relations with a region that for years looked favorably on Colombia,” according to comments carried by El Tiempo.

Japan is the largest Asia-Pacific source of foreign direct investment in Colombia. Japanese investment flows into the country totaled $562.7 million USD between 2010 and 2021, or 32.9 percent of all Asia-Pacific investment Colombia received in that period, ahead of China (21.2 percent) and Australia (14.6 percent), according to the Colombian embassy in Tokyo.

The Tokyo meetings produced no signed agreement and no specific investment commitment from Toyota; both would require further negotiation that the two governments have not scheduled publicly.

Headline photo: Colombia’s Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Mauricio Gómez Amín (right) and Japan’s State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshiro Ino, in Tokyo. (Photo courtesy MinCIT)

Colombia’s government told its Pacific Alliance partners this week that it will send Congress the bloc’s free-trade agreement with Singapore, a step meant to bring Bogotá into line with Chile and Peru, where the pact has been in force since May 2025.

The pledge came at the first meeting of the Alliance’s High-Level Group hosted by Mexico since it took over the bloc’s rotating presidency from Colombia earlier this year. The Grupo de Alto Nivel (High-Level Group, or GAN) — the vice ministers of foreign trade and foreign relations from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru — met August 20 and 21, 2026, in Mexico City, in a session that photos released by the Alliance place inside Mexico’s Secretaría de Economía (Ministry of Economy).

Colombia’s vice minister of foreign trade, Sandra Carvajal Sáenz, told her counterparts that President Abelardo de la Espriella’s government would submit the Pacific Alliance-Singapore agreement to Congress for the legislative and Constitutional Court review that Colombian treaties require before they can take effect. Singapore, Chile and Peru completed those procedures and put the deal into force on May 3, 2025, three years after it was signed at a Pacific Alliance presidential summit in Colombia; Mexico and Colombia are the two Alliance members that have yet to ratify it.

The High-Level Group’s agenda covered four areas. On regional value chains and regulatory cooperation, the vice ministers looked for ways to integrate production across the four countries and cut the regulatory barriers that keep exporters from adding value before selling into outside markets. On public-private coordination, they discussed concrete steps to link the bloc’s technical working groups with governments and with the private-sector Consejo Empresarial de la Alianza del Pacífico (Pacific Alliance Business Council, or CEAP). On small and medium-sized enterprises, the goal is turning those businesses into a bigger driver of the bloc’s trade and growth. And on trade promotion, the vice ministers discussed how the four countries’ promotion agencies affect trade, investment and tourism, and agreed those agencies need to be a governmental priority. Carvajal told her counterparts Colombia was “fully willing to work hard, constructively and decisively with our Pacific Alliance partners to actively contribute to this integration mechanism having an increasingly tangible impact on our economies and, above all, on generating jobs and opportunities for our citizens.”

The vice ministers’ meeting followed a forum the CEAP held on attracting foreign investment to the bloc’s four economies. Speaking on behalf of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Mauricio Gómez Amín, Carvajal said legal and regulatory stability — along with tools such as free-trade zones and trade-facilitation mechanisms — are priorities for the ministry. Gómez Amín made the same point in an August 10 statement from the ministry announcing his appointment: “Colombia needs clear rules, legal certainty and a government that sees business as an ally, not an adversary,” he said. “We are working to unblock projects and bring domestic and foreign capital into infrastructure, logistics, energy, connectivity, agribusiness, tourism and exportable services.”

Carvajal is one of two vice ministers Gómez Amín swore in on August 14, 2026, alongside Manuel Alejandro Naranjo Giraldo as vice minister of business development, El Heraldo reported. She joined the ministry after 17 years at ProColombia and, most recently, as the Caribbean regional manager for the exporters’ association Analdex. Gómez Amín, a Barranquilla lawyer and former senator, took over the ministry after de la Espriella’s government was sworn in this year, El Tiempo reported.

Mexico assumed the Pacific Alliance’s rotating presidency from Colombia on January 30, 2026, after Colombia closed out its own term with the signing of the Bogotá Act. The bloc, created in 2012 by the presidents of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru to pursue free movement of goods, services, capital and people among its members, is also working through Costa Rica’s bid to join, a process that began when Alliance ministers accepted San José’s candidacy in December 2024, under Chile’s presidency, and has continued through working-group sessions on framework-agreement compliance and trade-protocol negotiations since.

Carvajal used the Mexico City trip to also hold separate bilateral meetings with counterparts from Costa Rica, Mexico, Chile and Peru, the ministry said.

Headline photo: Vice ministers of foreign trade and foreign relations from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru meet as the Pacific Alliance’s High-Level Group at Mexico’s Secretaría de Economía in Mexico City, August 21, 2026. (Photo courtesy Pacific Alliance)

Colombia’s new government is trying to restart negotiations on an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Japan that formally opened in December 2012 and never reached signature, and it is pairing the trade push with a direct appeal to Japanese automakers to build vehicles in the country again. President Abelardo de la Espriella used a televised address on Sunday, August 30, 2026, to present the results of a mission to Tokyo by Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Mauricio Gómez Amín, which produced a joint commitment with Japan to put technical teams back to work on the pact and opened talks with Toyota Motor Corporation (TYO: 7203; NYSE: TM), Mazda Motor Corporation (TYO: 7261) and Toshiba Corporation.

“After nearly 15 years of paralyzed negotiations, in the first 15 days of my government we managed to take significant steps to unblock the economic partnership agreement between Colombia and Japan,” de la Espriella said, according to El Tiempo. He added: “We want to open markets for our products, incorporate technology and generate new opportunities for our countryside and our industry. We are also working so that Japan looks at Colombia again as an investment destination.”

The Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo (MinCIT, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism) summarized the message in a statement issued August 31, 2026: “Colombia is once again making its way in the world: we are seeking markets for our products, investment to generate jobs, technology to transform our economy, and strong allies to accompany us in the reconstruction.”

“Japan is looking at Colombia again, and we are ready to capitalize on that confidence,” Gómez Amín said in the ministry’s August 25 statement on the first day of meetings.

What happened in Tokyo

Gómez Amín’s mission ran from August 22 to August 27, according to Infobae Colombia. On Tuesday, August 25, the minister met State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshiro Ino of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). In its readout of the meeting, METI said the two exchanged views on potential areas for bilateral cooperation, including trade and investment, and agreed to continue deepening their cooperation; Ino also expressed condolences to the victims of the August 10 earthquake. MinCIT said the meeting advanced an agenda to reactivate and conclude the EPA, which Gómez Amín described in a message on X quoted by Semana as “a modern agreement that opens doors for our agroindustry, investment and technology transfer.”

Japan’s State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshiro Ino (left) and Colombian Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Mauricio Gómez Amín (second from right) during their August 25, 2026 meeting in Tokyo. (Photo courtesy MinCIT)

Two days later, on Thursday, August 27, Gómez Amín met for more than 40 minutes with Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Semana reported. According to the readout published by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and cited by Semana, Motegi opened the meeting with condolences for the earthquake and said he welcomed a visit so soon after the new administration took office as a sign that it gives importance to relations with Japan. Gómez Amín thanked Japan for its support after the earthquake and expressed his firm desire to reactivate the EPA negotiations. On that basis, the two ministers confirmed they would instruct technical officials in both countries to continue discussions diligently with a view to resuming negotiations.

MinCIT said in a communiqué reported by El Espectador that the meeting “made it possible to take a new step in the bilateral relationship and establish a concrete route for the technical teams of both countries to continue the conversations on the EPA.”

The Motegi meeting also covered Colombia’s participation in GREEN×EXPO 2027, the international horticultural exposition that opens in Yokohama in March 2027. Motegi thanked Gómez Amín for the formal letter confirming that Colombia will take part, according to an EFE dispatch published by El Tiempo.

In another message on X quoted by Infobae Colombia, Gómez Amín wrote: “On the instruction of President Abelardo de la Espriella, we have taken on the responsibility of unblocking a trade relationship that for nearly 15 years was not able to advance as Colombia needed.”

A negotiation that predates three presidents

The “15 years” cited by the president and the minister refers to a process that formally began almost 14 years ago, during the administration of Juan Manuel Santos. EPA negotiations between Colombia and Japan began in December 2012, according to Colombia’s embassy in Tokyo, which states that the proposed agreement has 18 chapters, covering areas including cooperation, intellectual property, government procurement, trade facilitation and improvement of the business environment; that 16 of those chapters have been concluded and agreed; and that the chapters on rules of origin and market access remain pending. The talks were suspended in 2021, El Tiempo reported in September 2025, and Infobae Colombia reported that the two pending chapters have been outstanding since the government of Iván Duque.

The de la Espriella government is also not the first to announce a restart. On September 4, 2025, then-President Gustavo Petro asked then-Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, at a meeting in Tokyo, to speed up the signing of the EPA, calling it a “fundamental necessity,” according to an EFE dispatch published by Portafolio. Petro and then-Commerce Minister Diana Marcela Morales led a meeting in Osaka during Expo 2025 to reaffirm both countries’ will to reactivate the negotiations, and Morales held meetings with Japanese companies and with METI Parliamentary Vice-Minister Akiyoshi Kato, El Tiempo reported at the time. No agreement was signed.

Japanese foreign direct investment in Colombia totaled $766.9 million USD between 2000 and 2024, making Japan the third-largest Asian investor in the country after China and India, with more than 45 Japanese companies operating locally, according to figures reported by Infobae Colombia. Colombia’s non-mining, non-energy exports to Japan reached $293.4 million USD in 2024, including green coffee, fresh flowers, coffee derivatives and agroindustrial goods. Over the narrower 2010 to 2021 period, the Colombian embassy in Tokyo puts cumulative Japanese investment flows at $562.7 million USD, or 32.9% of all Asia-Pacific investment Colombia received, ahead of China at 21.2% and Australia at 14.6%, and describes Japan as the largest Asia-Pacific source of foreign investment in the country.

The automotive pitch

Also on August 25, Gómez Amín met Hiroshi Nanbu, president of Business Planning & Operation at Toyota Motor Corporation, and invited Toyota to expand its presence in Colombia through hybrid and electric vehicle assembly, charging infrastructure, and development of local suppliers, MinCIT said. Semana identified Automotores Toyota Colombia President Hiroshi Yonenaga as also attending. The minister also met executives of Mazda and Toshiba, with the discussions covering manufacturing, digital infrastructure, supplier development and technological innovation, El Tiempo reported; MinCIT’s August 31 statement listed manufacturing, electric mobility, energy, digital infrastructure, innovation and technology as the sectors explored.

“We are working, for example, so that Mazda can once again assemble vehicles in Colombia and so that Toyota evaluates our country as a destination for projects related to electric vehicles,” de la Espriella said in the address. He added, in a line El Tiempo reported was a reference to the incentives planned to attract that investment: “Here we are going to give them every guarantee.”

The Toyota meeting revisited a relationship of more than five decades, according to MinCIT. The first Toyota vehicles were registered in Colombia in October 1959, and the company formalized a local distributor in 1967, according to El Carro Colombiano. Sofasa, the assembler of Renault (Euronext Paris: RNO) vehicles in Envigado, Antioquia, signed a letter of intent with Toyota in 1989; assembly of Land Cruisers began there in March 1992, Hilux pickups followed the next year, and local assembly continued for 17 years until Toyota exited its shareholding in Sofasa in December 2008.

Mazda assembled vehicles in Colombia for three decades through the Compañía Colombiana Automotriz (CCA) at a plant in Bogotá. The last vehicle left the line on April 30, 2014, and the closure eliminated about 500 jobs, according to Infobae Colombia, which reported that the decision responded to falling exports to neighboring markets and lower import costs. Mazda now imports all of its vehicles for the Colombian market from Japan and México.

The pitch comes as vehicle sales grow. Colombia registered 213,377 new vehicles between January and August 2026, a 42.1% increase over the same period of 2025, with Toyota third in the market at 18,946 registrations, according to figures from the Asociación Nacional de Empresarios de Colombia (ANDI, the National Business Association of Colombia) and Federación Nacional de Comerciantes (Fenalco, the National Federation of Merchants) cited by El Tiempo. Cumulative registrations of new electric vehicles reached 29,347 through July 2026, a 231.2% increase over the same period a year earlier, according to ANDI and Fenalco figures reported by El Tiempo.

Headline image: A slide titled “Toyota Strategy in Colombia” is shown during Minister Mauricio Gómez Amín’s meeting with Toyota Motor Corporation representatives in Tokyo on August 25, 2026. The slide states that Toyota is expanding its electrified lineup in Colombia to a 61% xEV ratio in 2027. (Photo courtesy MinCIT)

A dissenting view

José Clopatofsky, director of Motor magazine, published by Casa Editorial El Tiempo, called the assembly proposal “improbable” in an analysis published by El Tiempo on August 31, citing the structural conditions of local demand and tax advantages that benefit other countries.

“It is quite unlikely that this will happen, because Colombia’s market is too small to support an additional plant, made worse by the fact that we have free trade agreements with a great many countries,” Clopatofsky said. “That is, except for Japan, India and China, they have to pay taxes on combustion vehicles; all the electric vehicles in the world pay no taxes to come to Colombia.”

Clopatofsky also pointed to the earlier closures of the Chevrolet and Mazda plants in Colombia, which El Tiempo reported were shut down years ago for lack of profitability, and said that because practically all brands face no tax burden on cars sold in Colombia, importing is favored over local production.

Earthquake assistance

The Tokyo mission began less than two weeks after the magnitude 7.4 earthquake of August 10, which struck Chocó department and caused heavy damage across western Colombia, as Finance Colombia reported. De la Espriella said Japan had expressed solidarity with affected families and its willingness to contribute humanitarian aid, and Gómez Amín wrote that the Japanese government’s support “will translate into aid and contributions for the families affected by the earthquake.” The statements from MinCIT did not specify an amount.

“I am deeply grateful to the Japanese people and government,” de la Espriella said.

The reconstruction burden is one of several pressures facing the administration, which took office August 7. Finance Colombia’s earlier analysis examined the security situation, the earthquake response and the government’s position in Congress.

None of the statements issued by either government reports a signed agreement, a specific investment commitment from Toyota or Mazda, or a date for a formal resumption of EPA negotiating rounds.

Above image: A slide titled “Toyota Strategy in Colombia” is shown during Minister Mauricio Gómez Amín’s meeting with Toyota Motor Corporation representatives in Tokyo on August 25, 2026. The slide states that Toyota is expanding its electrified lineup in Colombia to a 61% xEV ratio in 2027. (Photo courtesy MinCIT)

Cinemotion Labs closed its debut Medellín edition on August 16, wrapping a week of workshops, an academic conference and an equipment showcase at Telemedellín with a public conversation between Colombian director Víctor Gaviria and cinematographer Rodrigo Lalinde before more than 100 people. Organizers said they are already planning a second edition for 2027.

The event was organized by Latin Press Inc., the trade-media company behind broadcast-industry publications including TV y Video Latinoamérica, and ran August 10 to 16, 2026, at Telemedellín’s studios in the El Poblado district. Cinemotion Labs describes itself as the first event in Colombia and Latin America built specifically around film production and post-production, pairing an exhibition floor of camera, lighting and editing equipment with an academic program on trends including artificial intelligence, virtual production and streaming platforms. Sponsors and exhibitors at the debut edition included Sony (NYSE: SONY; TSE: 6758), Riedel Communications and Vidiexco.

The week opened with Volumen XVII of the Asociación de Directores de Fotografía Cinematográfica de Colombia’s (Association of Cinematographic Directors of Photography of Colombia, or ADFC) Salón Internacional de la Luz, alongside workshops from Congo Films, the Bogotá-based virtual-production and equipment-rental company. An academic conference program followed, along with hands-on labs staged in Telemedellín’s Studio 2 and a Filminutos contest that challenged production teams to shoot short pieces during the event.

A speaker addresses attendees during Cinemotion Labs’ academic program at Telemedellín’s Studio 2. (Photo courtesy Cinemotion Labs)

Cinemotion Labs’ closing activities were folded into the wrap-up of the Festival de Cine Corto Medellín, where organizers awarded the contest’s top short film and staged the conversation between Gaviria and Lalinde, who shot Gaviria’s 1990 film “Rodrigo D: No Future,” at Telemedellín’s Parque Gabriel García Márquez campus. The week ended with a guided tour of Medellín intended to introduce participants to potential filming locations in the city.

“The balance of this first edition is very positive. We managed to bring together training, technology, creation and talent around film, but also connect participants with the possibilities Medellín offers for developing their projects,” Verónica Marín, Cinemotion Labs’ project manager, told TV y Video Latinoamérica. “Cinemotion Labs was born with the intention of generating these meeting spaces, and we are already working on what the 2027 edition will be.”

The event closed as Colombia expands the tax incentives it uses to compete for international film and television production. Proimágenes Colombia, the nonprofit that administers the country’s film-promotion funds through its Comisión Fílmica Colombia (Colombia Film Commission), said in December 2025 that the 2026 quota for its Certificado de Inversión Audiovisual (Audiovisual Investment Certificate, or CINA) will reach $350 billion COP, a 49% increase over 2025 and the largest allocation since the incentive was created under Law 1556 of 2012. Since CINA’s creation, it has backed more than 165 international audiovisual projects, generating over $3.4 trillion COP ($861 million USD) in investment and more than 130,000 direct jobs, according to Proimágenes Colombia; Law 1556 also created a second instrument, the Fondo Fílmico Colombia (Colombia Film Fund) cash-rebate fund. Beneficiaries with 2026 releases include the second season of Netflix’s (NASDAQ: NFLX) “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and Amazon Prime Video’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) “The Night Manager.”

Cinemotion Labs said it will share details on its 2027 edition through its official channels.

Headline photo: Organizers and guests cut the ribbon at the opening of Cinemotion Labs’ debut edition in Medellín. (Photo courtesy Cinemotion Labs)

Tecnoglass Holdings Inc. (NYSE: TGLS), the Barranquilla, Colombia-based manufacturer of architectural glass and aluminum windows, reported record second-quarter revenue of $295.3 million USD on August 6, up 15.6% from $255.5 million USD a year earlier, even as new US tariffs on imported aluminum cut deeply into profitability. Shares, trading near $42 USD as of August 13, sit closer to their 52-week low of $37.52 USD than their 52-week high of $83.32 USD — a gap that looks increasingly out of step with the underlying business.

Tecnoglass has posted record revenue every year since 2024, including into 2026 guidance

Quarterly net income fell to $24.6 million USD, or $0.55 USD per diluted share, from $44.1 million USD, or $0.94 USD per diluted share, a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA dropped to $51.7 million USD, or 17.5% of revenue, from $79.8 million USD, or 31.2% of revenue, in the second quarter of 2025, and gross margin compressed to 37.3% from 44.7%.

Chief Executive Officer José Manuel Daes attributed nearly all of the decline to external cost pressures rather than softening demand. “Margins developed largely as we outlined last quarter, reflecting elevated aluminum costs, a stronger Colombian Peso and the initial impact of the April enactment of Section 232 tariffs on certain aluminum-based products,” Daes said in the company’s August 6 earnings release. Management said pricing actions taken since May and accelerated automation should begin offsetting costs in the second half of 2026, with tariff impact fully offset by 2027.

The company’s own reconciliation of the year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA decline shows where the pressure came from: higher US aluminum prices cut $9.6 million USD, the stronger Colombian peso cut $14.5 million USD, and general and administrative cost growth tied largely to the new tariffs cut $22.7 million USD. Those three items alone total more than the entire EBITDA decline, while higher sales volume and pricing added back $15.7 million USD.

Tariffs, currency and cost inflation, not weaker demand, explain nearly all of the EBITDA decline

Backlog — orders not yet recognized as revenue — grew 15.6% year-over-year to a record $1.38 billion USD, extending a streak of consecutive quarterly gains that Chief Operating Officer Christian Daes said dates to 2021. “Our backlog grew to another record of $1.38 billion, extending our track record of sequential quarter growth since 2021 and reflecting consistent execution on a growing pipeline of multi-family and commercial projects,” Christian Daes said.

Backlog has grown for 26 consecutive quarters, reaching a record $1.38 billion

Chief Financial Officer Santiago Giraldo (above photo) narrowed full-year 2026 guidance to revenue of $1.08 billion USD to $1.12 billion USD and Adjusted EBITDA of $220 million USD to $230 million USD. “The revision primarily reflects sustained high aluminum costs and a Colombian peso that has strengthened beyond our prior assumptions, not a change in the demand for our products,” Giraldo said, adding that the company is “committed to fully offsetting the impact of tariffs in 2027.”

That distinction — a company executing well against an external cost shock, rather than one with a demand problem — sits at the center of the bull case. Tecnoglass discloses a three-year average return on invested capital of 34%, versus roughly 10% for the building-products peer group it tracks against in its own investor materials, a group that includes Apogee Enterprises Inc. (NASDAQ: APOG), Armstrong World Industries Inc. (NYSE: AWI) and Fortune Brands Innovations Inc. (NYSE: FBIN).

Tecnoglass’s returns on capital run roughly three times the peer average

At roughly 8.6 times enterprise value to trailing Adjusted EBITDA — near the low end of its 52-week range for that multiple, according to StockAnalysis.com — Tecnoglass trades well below the mid-teens multiple the stock has commanded in stronger periods over the past two years. Three analysts covering the stock hold an average price target of $56.33 USD, according to the same source — roughly 34% above the stock’s August 13 level.

The stock trades well below both its 52-week high and Wall Street’s own consensus target

Colombia’s own political calendar adds a variable outside Tecnoglass’s control. Abelardo de la Espriella won a narrow June 21 runoff for the Colombian presidency — by less than one percentage point over Iván Cepeda, according to election results — and was inaugurated August 7 in Cali. He campaigned on a smaller state, lower taxes and closer security and economic cooperation with the United States. Law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and the Atlantic Council have described the shift as a potential catalyst for renewed foreign investment, though both note Colombia’s fiscal deficit, estimated at 7% to 8% of GDP, a divided Congress, and outgoing president Gustavo Petro’s public dispute of the election’s legitimacy leave significant execution risk around the transition itself. For a manufacturer with 5.8 million square feet of production capacity concentrated in Barranquilla, a more stable currency and investment climate in Colombia would work in the opposite direction of the peso appreciation that hurt second-quarter margins — though that relationship is not mechanical, and the president’s narrow mandate is no guarantee of smooth execution.

“The revision primarily reflects sustained high aluminum costs and a Colombian peso that has strengthened beyond our prior assumptions, not a change in the demand for our products.” — Santiago Giraldo, chief financial officer, Tecnoglass

None of this guarantees a rebound. Tecnoglass’s own guidance assumes aluminum costs and the peso remain elevated through the balance of 2026, and the company does not expect to fully offset tariff costs until 2027. Selling, general and administrative expense rose to 24.9% of revenue from 20.8% a year earlier, largely on about $17.0 million USD in costs tied to the Section 232 tariffs on finished aluminum window imports — a cost base that could grow if tariff policy shifts again. The company also cut headcount by 10% as of the end of June as part of its automation push, evidence the cost pressure was significant enough to require structural changes, not just pricing actions.

Tecnoglass ended the quarter with $360.0 million USD in total liquidity, including $80.8 million USD in cash, against $225.4 million USD in total debt, a net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio the company puts at approximately 0.6 times. It paid $6.7 million USD in dividends during the quarter and had roughly $92.5 million USD remaining on its share buyback authorization as of August 6. On July 7, the company completed a previously announced move of its corporate domicile from the Cayman Islands to Florida, a step management said should broaden the pool of index funds and US-only investors able to hold the stock.

For investors willing to look through a quarter defined by input costs rather than demand, the combination of a record backlog, capital returns and returns on capital well above peers, and a valuation multiple already below its own historical average makes Tecnoglass one of the more interesting names in US building products heading into the back half of 2026 — with Colombia’s political transition as a wild card that could work in the company’s favor if it delivers the currency and investment stability its early backers expect.

Several Ferrari customers in Colombia are seeking answers after paying advance deposits for vehicles that they say have not been delivered, following the end of the relationship between Ferrari and its former Colombian representative, Autos Italianos de Colombia S.A.

The dispute emerged in July 2026 after customers reported uncertainty over vehicle orders and advance payments made through the Bogotá dealership. Ferrari North America confirmed that Autos Italianos de Colombia was no longer part of its authorized distributor network as of June 4, 2026, and said it was working to identify a new representative for Colombia.

At the center of the controversy are buyers who say they transferred significant sums of money for Ferrari vehicles but have not received their cars or refunds. One customer, businessman Antonio Mendivil, said he paid a $30,000 USD deposit toward a vehicle order and was later informed that Ferrari had not received the funds.

“We made the $30,000 USD advance, and we were left with the fact that my $30,000 USD never reached Ferrari; it stayed in Colombia, in this company called Autos Italianos.” – Antonio Mendivil, Ferrari customer

According to reports from Colombian media, several customers had placed orders through the Ferrari showroom previously operated by Autos Italianos de Colombia in northern Bogotá. Buyers said they expected the dealership to manage the ordering process, international production timeline and eventual delivery of their vehicles.

The Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC), Colombia’s consumer protection authority, began reviewing the situation after receiving complaints from customers. On July 22, 2026, the agency requested information from Autos Italianos de Colombia regarding sales conditions, delivery commitments and its commercial relationship with Ferrari.

The SIC’s action is a preliminary consumer protection review and does not represent a final finding of wrongdoing. The authority is seeking documentation to determine whether consumer regulations were followed in the sale of the vehicles.

Ferrari North America has distanced itself from the dispute involving the former distributor and stated that matters related to customer claims against Autos Italianos de Colombia should be addressed directly with that company. The company also confirmed that it is searching for a new official distributor in Colombia.

On July 31, 2026, Autos Italianos de Colombia responded to the dispute by announcing that it had initiated legal proceedings against Ferrari North America. The former distributor requested evidence-gathering measures before civil courts in Bogotá to examine the circumstances surrounding the termination of its representation agreement, including Ferrari’s decision-making process, vehicle allocations, customer orders and advance payments. The company’s legal action represents a separate dispute from the consumer complaints filed by Ferrari buyers and does not constitute a finding that either party acted improperly.

The case has also drawn attention from the Fiscalía General de la Nación after complaints from buyers regarding possible irregularities. Allegations reported by customers and media remain under investigation and have not resulted in a confirmed judicial finding against the individuals or companies involved.

For luxury vehicle buyers, the dispute shows the importance of understanding payment structures, contractual responsibilities and the role of authorized distributors in high-value international purchases.

Ferrari vehicles often involve long production timelines, customized specifications and substantial advance payments. The resolution of the Colombia dispute will depend on whether authorities and the parties involved can clarify the status of customer funds, pending orders and contractual obligations.

Headline photo : Ferrari showroom in Bogota (Photo shared by EEIM via Wikimedia Commons)

The exhibition is the 16th edition of the shopping center’s annual floral event, presented this year as World of Flowers 2026 under the slogan “When love unites, peace blossoms.” It runs alongside the Feria de las Flores (Festival of the Flowers), the city’s flower festival held across July and August, and draws on the region’s silletero (flower-bearer) tradition of carrying flower arrangements on wooden back-frames.

Each edition is organized around a theme, and the 2026 centerpiece is peace. “The floral dove symbolizes the peace we long for throughout the world. With it, we want to convey a message of empathy and hope at a time when the world is facing so many conflicts,” María Fernanda Bertel, general manager of Centro Comercial Santa Fé Medellín, told the Spanish news agency EFE.

“The floral dove symbolizes the peace we long for throughout the world.” — María Fernanda Bertel, general manager, Centro Comercial Santa Fé Medellín

For 46 days, the 1,000-square-meter plaza holds a floral carpet of 27,000 plants carrying more than 220,000 flowers grown in eastern Antioquia. The arrangement combines petunias in fuchsia, purple, white, and red with marigolds ranging from orange to yellow.

“The species we have chosen adapt well to our square and to our infrastructure, which features retractable roofs that open in the morning and afternoon, providing the lighting conditions these flowers require,” Bertel said.

The dove is built on a metal frame and covered with white leaves made from biodegradable materials designed to resemble flowers, attached one by one to a sculpture measuring 10.5 meters high and 16.8 meters wide. According to Bertel, more than 200 people worked on World of Flowers 2026, from initial design through installation, and a team of eight gardeners maintains the display, monitoring watering and condition throughout the run.

The shopping center staged its first flower carpet in 2011. In 2025 the initiative marked its 15th anniversary and drew 3.1 million visitors to installations placed throughout the property, with a hot-air balloon as that year’s main attraction.

Because the decree applies without prejudice to the trade agreements Colombia already has in force, the duty falls in practice on imports from countries with which the country has no free trade agreement. According to the technical analysis cited in the text, those origins are led by China, followed by Indonesia and Malaysia.

“In order to protect the national production of float glass and to prevent trade diversion, the application of a tariff becomes necessary.” — Decree 636 of 2026, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism

The government based the tariff on a steep rise in imports. Total purchases of colorless float glass under the two subheadings grew about 134% between 2022 and 2025, rising from roughly 26,334 metric tons to 61,673 metric tons. Over the same period, the share supplied by countries without a trade agreement climbed from 52.36% to 87.07%. In 2025, China accounted for 57.74% of the volume imported from those origins, followed by Indonesia at 23.65% and Malaysia at 17.08%.

Imports from partners with an agreement in force — chiefly the United States, Mexico and Brazil — fell 36.50% between 2022 and 2025, while shipments from countries without an agreement rose 289.02% over the same period. The decree also documents a widening price gap. The average cost, insurance and freight (CIF) price of glass from trade-agreement countries slipped from $0.705 USD per kilogram in 2022 to $0.660 USD in 2025, a drop of 6.38%. Prices from countries without an agreement fell far more steeply, from $0.604 USD to $0.291 USD per kilogram, a decline of 51.82%. The gap between the two blocks widened from 14.24% in 2022 to 55.86% in 2025.

The decree describes colorless float glass as a strategic input for construction, manufacturing, industrial processing, architectural finishes, the automotive sector and safety-glass production, and notes that Colombia has registered domestic production of the material. Citing the risk of trade diversion, it points to trade-remedy measures that other countries — including Brazil, Mexico, India, Chinese Taipei, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia and South Africa — have applied to float glass from various Asian origins, as recorded by the World Trade Organization.

The Comité de Asuntos Aduaneros, Arancelarios y de Comercio Exterior (Committee on Customs, Tariff and Foreign Trade Affairs) recommended the 35% rate for a five-year term during its session on May 4, 2026. The Ministerio de Vivienda, Ciudad y Territorio (Ministry of Housing, City and Territory) issued an opinion on April 24, 2026 stating that the measure would help soften inflationary effects and preserve the continuity of housing construction and improvement projects. The Departamento Nacional de Planeación (National Planning Department, DNP) found on April 29, 2026 that the measure aligned with the government’s reindustrialization policy and with the housing objectives of the 2022–2026 National Development Plan.

The Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (National Tax and Customs Directorate, DIAN) estimated additional fiscal revenue from the adjustment of $248.127 billion COP, accumulated over the 2026–2035 period. The decree was opened to public consultation for 15 calendar days, from May 7 to May 21, 2026, on the ministry’s website.

The tariff rests on the president’s constitutional authority over customs and foreign trade, Laws 7 of 1991 and 1609 of 2013, and Decision 805 of the Comunidad Andina (Andean Community), which allows member countries to adopt tariff modifications. It partially amends Article 1 of Decree 1881 of 2021, the customs tariff schedule in force since January 1, 2022.

The move continues a series of tariff actions by Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism directed at domestic industry. In recent months the ministry has drafted a “smart tariffs” decree tying import duties to domestic production capacity, moved to reintroduce duties on 32 goods and raw materials, and extended a 35% tariff on footwear imports.

Colombia’s Congress has passed Law 2586 of 2026, adopting a new sanctions and merchandise-seizure regime for customs matters along with the procedure that the National Tax and Customs Directorate (Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales, or DIAN) must follow when penalizing importers and exporters that fail to meet their obligations in foreign-trade operations.

The statute consolidates into a single framework the rules for imposing sanctions and seizing goods, and the administrative procedure DIAN applies when customs duties and disposals are breached. It takes effect upon promulgation and repeals Decree Law 920 of 2023 as well as Article 51 of Law 1762 of 2015.

“The present law has as its object to establish the provisions that constitute the sanctions regime and the seizure of merchandise in customs matters, as well as the applicable procedure to be followed by DIAN for the imposition of sanctions and the seizure of merchandise.” — Law 2586 of 2026, Article 1

The regime applies across the entire national customs territory, without prejudice to special provisions in Colombian law and in the international agreements and treaties the country has signed. Its reach extends, where international law allows, to customs procedures and controls carried out in the territory of another country under binational, multilateral, or regional agreements ratified by Colombia.

The law sets out ten binding principles that the customs authority must observe: favorability, legality, typicity, the prohibition of double sanction for the same infraction or seizure for the same act, the prohibition of analogy, proportionality, good faith, the prevalence of substance over form, harm (lesividad), and due diligence. Under the due-diligence principle, the burden of proof shifts to the investigated party, who can rebut fault by demonstrating that it acted diligently.

DIAN is named as the competent authority to verify the legality of foreign-trade operations and compliance by customs users. The law grants the agency broad audit powers, including the authority to order searches of business premises through a reasoned resolution, inspect accounting records, take samples of merchandise, and impose precautionary measures to preserve evidence. Searches of a person’s home require prior judicial authorization.

Among the law’s central instruments is the Post-Clearance Audit (Auditoría Posterior al Despacho), modeled on standards issued by the World Customs Organization (Organización Mundial de Aduanas) and the World Trade Organization. The audit is designed to support and accompany traders after goods clear customs, with the stated aim of preventing new infractions and promoting voluntary compliance. It can take three forms: a desk audit conducted from available information, an on-site audit at the trader’s premises, and a mixed audit combining both.

The law builds in incentives for traders to correct errors. Through a persuasive-invitation mechanism, an importer or customs user that accepts a proposal can file a correction or proof of payment and close the administrative proceeding, while acceptance and reduction provisions lower the sanction for those who acknowledge the contested facts. The law also distinguishes non-sanctionable formal errors from infractions that warrant penalties.

DIAN’s power to impose sanctions lapses three years after the act or omission that constitutes the customs infraction, the period within which the administrative decision must become final.

For repeat offenders, the law graduates the temporary closure of a business establishment by the value of the seizure, measured in Tax Value Units (Unidades de Valor Tributario, or UVT), ranging from five days for the lowest tier up to 30 days above 5,000 UVT. A separate schedule phases in appraisal thresholds for seizures: from August 1, 2026 for cases below 2,000 UVT, from August 1, 2027 for cases below 4,000 UVT, and from August 1, 2028 for cases below 10,000 UVT.

The overhaul follows years of debate over how DIAN administers customs enforcement, a recurring theme in Colombia’s foreign-trade policy. Finance Colombia has previously reported on DIAN’s tightening of import controls and on criticism of how the agency applies customs rules.

In June 2026, DHL Supply Chain has launched its DHL Fulfillment Network in Colombia and is introducing a logistics platform designed to support the growing volume of e-commerce transactions in the country and across international markets.

The system is intended to handle operations that start at roughly 1,500 orders per month and scale beyond 6,000 monthly orders, positioning itself primarily as a logistics backbone for small and mid-sized e-commerce businesses.

The launch includes initial fulfillment centers in Bogotá and Medellín, two of Colombia’s main logistics and consumption hubs, where DHL will operate multi-client facilities that are designed to adjust capacity based on demand.

The company said the network integrates warehousing, inventory management, order picking and packing, distribution, and reverse logistics under a standardized operational model connected to a global network of more than 80 fulfillment centers.

“Colombia already moved past the stage of basic e-commerce adoption. The current challenge is execution and having the right logistics technology. The increase in order volumes is putting pressure on operations, where accuracy, visibility and responsiveness define the customer experience,” – Robinson Vásquez, general manager of DHL Supply Chain.

The launch comes as Colombia’s e-commerce sector continues to expand. According to the Colombian Chamber of Electronic Commerce (CCCE), online sales grew 11.1% in 2025 compared with the previous year and reached $145.4 billion COP and more than 684 million transactions. Payments CMI projects annual sector growth of approximately 16% through 2027.

Industry research from the NubeCommerce Colombia 2025–2026 report also points to a maturing market, where consumers are becoming more selective and companies are increasingly focused on operational efficiency and technology adoption.

E-Commerce Growth Intensifies Demand for Faster Fulfillment

As online shopping continues to grow in Colombia, retailers are facing greater pressure to deliver orders quickly and reliably. Meeting customer expectations has become increasingly important as consumers demand faster shipping and more visibility into the status of their purchases.

DHL’s fulfillment service is designed to handle warehousing, inventory management, packing, shipping and returns on behalf of businesses. Companies can track orders and inventory through the company’s MySupplyChain platform.

The system can also connect with online stores, marketplaces and business management software, allowing retailers to manage orders across multiple sales channels.

Operating from fulfillment centers in Bogotá and Medellín, DHL said the network can reach more than 1,000 destinations across Colombia as well as international markets. Deliveries to major cities can be completed within 24 to 48 hours, depending on the service selected.

The company said the two facilities were strategically located to serve regions with the highest concentration of online shoppers and help shorten delivery times.

Vásquez said logistics capabilities are becoming increasingly important for small and medium-sized businesses competing in e-commerce.

“Small and mid-sized companies competing in e-commerce need more than capacity. They need consistency and operational confidence,” he said. “Scaling omnichannel fulfillment without losing control of inventory, integrating multiple sales channels efficiently, and managing returns effectively are now critical to sustained growth.”

Robinson Vásquez, general manager of DHL Supply Chain Colombia

The Technology and Sustainability Components

DHL said the Colombian rollout includes a warehouse management system (WMS) that uses artificial intelligence to support inventory control and improve picking and dispatch accuracy.

The system is designed to integrate with digital sales channels and enterprise systems. This allows for real-time visibility across operations.

The company also highlights sustainability-related features in its fulfillment operations, which include LED lighting systems with automated sensors and waste segregation and recycling processes. These measures are part of DHL Group’s broader goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

How Does the Launch Fit Into Colombia’s E-Commerce Growth?

Colombia’s e-commerce sector has expanded rapidly in recent years, which is supported by rising digital adoption and improved payment infrastructure.

According to Payments CMI, Colombia’s e-commerce sector is expected to continue growing through 2027, which will be supported by increasing digital adoption and improvements in logistics infrastructure.

Above photo: A DHL warehouse. (Photo: DHL)