Colombia and Peru Sign Agreements to Cut Red Tape for Cross-Border Business

Colombia and Peru recently signed a series of agreements geared toward strengthening the ties between the Andean nations and promoting the ease of doing business.

The trade- and business-related aspects of the agreements, which were signed late last month following a bilateral meeting between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, focus on erasing regulations and “tramites” that slow down time to market across borders.

Photo: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski at the IV Gabinete Binacional Colombia-Perú. (Credit: Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism)

Colombian Commerce Minister María Lorena Gutiérrez said that some of the efforts align with the “Menos Trámites, Más Simples” (“Fewer Processes, More Simple”) campaign to cut down on paperwork and process requirements for companies engaging in foreign trade. That campaign has already fully eliminated 10 processes in Colombia, while simplifying 19 others and automated another 37, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism.

At the same time, Colombia and Peru both stated that they have reaffirmed their commitment to fight illegal mining and cross-border criminal activities while still looking to maintain what President Kuczynski called “a fluid border that promotes the interdependence of our populations and their commercial exchange.”

Other agreements included provisions that focus on exchanges in the areas of defense and security, diplomatic offices, telecommunications, healthcare, and protecting indigenous peoples.