The five-day exhibition is expected to welcome more than 500 exhibitors and approximately 50,000 professional visitors, providing a platform for companies to showcase technologies, strengthen commercial relationships, and explore opportunities across Colombia and Latin America’s industrial sectors.

The event will feature solutions and innovations spanning areas such as industrial machinery, automation, advanced manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, tools, equipment, raw materials, and specialized industrial services.

Beyond the exhibition floor, FIB 2026 will include a specialized academic programme and innovation-focused spaces such as the Innovation Laboratory, 3D Tech Zone, Industry Talks, networking areas, coworking spaces, and a business matchmaking forum, creating opportunities for knowledge exchange and strategic partnerships.

Designed for decision-makers including executives, engineers, production managers, maintenance professionals, and procurement specialists, the Feria Internacional Industrial de Bogotá serves as a meeting point for companies looking to discover new technologies and solutions shaping the future of industry.

Dates: September 28–October 2, 2026
Venue: Corferias, Bogotá, Colombia

For more information, visit https://www.feriainternacional.com.

Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo, MinCIT) has published a draft decree introducing what it calls “smart tariffs,” a proposed system that would adjust import duties based on the level of domestic production within each industrial chain.

The proposal would replace Colombia’s traditional structure of broadly applied tariff rates, which are largely shaped by World Trade Organization commitments and multiple free trade agreements,  with a more segmented approach tied to supply-chain conditions inside the country. In practice, tariff levels would vary depending on how much of each industrial chain is already supplied by domestic producers.

Colombia’s current tariff regime is relatively open by regional standards, with differentiated rates shaped by trade agreements and product classifications, but without a systematic mechanism linking duties to domestic production capacity. The proposed framework represents a change toward a more interventionist industrial policy approach, where tariffs are used not only for trade regulation but also for production steering.

The draft applies to a list of products where domestic production already exists. This includes steel, wood, plastics, metalworking, and petrochemicals. Under the proposal, higher tariff levels would apply to finished goods in sectors where Colombia has established industrial capacity and inputs essential to production chains could face reduced or zero tariffs.

For example, intermediate goods or components in industries where Colombia has limited production capacity could be exempted if they are considered essential for manufacturing export-oriented goods, particularly in textiles and apparel.

The Ministry said the framework was developed through technical discussions with industry associations and private-sector representatives, who provided input on supply-chain constraints, production bottlenecks, and competitiveness challenges across different sectors.

“Smart tariffs do not start from a uniform logic toward international trade, but from a reading of the country’s productive capacities and the needs of each value chain,” – Diana Morales Rojas, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.

Rising Imports and Industrial Policy Pressure

The proposal comes at a time when Colombia has seen growth in imports of manufactured goods, especially in industrial inputs and finished consumer products. Data shared by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) shows that imports of manufactured goods have remained important in Colombia’s trade balance. This reflects both domestic demand and limited local production in certain value chains.

Industry Perspective

The National Business Association of Colombia (ANDI) has previously warned that any tariff redesign must balance industrial protection with cost competitiveness for downstream manufacturers that rely on imported inputs.

The organization has supported efforts to strengthen domestic production but has also cautioned that higher input costs could affect export competitiveness in sectors such as textiles, automotive components, and processed foods.

Government Position on Smart Tariffs

Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Diana Marcela Morales Rojas said the measure is designed to make tariff policy more responsive to industrial realities rather than applying uniform rules across sectors.

“Smart tariffs do not start from a uniform logic toward international trade, but from a reading of the country’s productive capacities and the needs of each value chain,” said the minister.

She added that the system is intended to support sectors where industrial capacity can expand and improve access to strategic inputs used in manufacturing processes.

The draft decree has been published for public comment before moving forward in the regulatory approval process.

Above photo: Cartagena skyline viewed from the harbor. (Photo: [Pe-sa] / Wikimedia Commons

The credit rating reflects the stability of the company’s financial results, in line with the favorable oil price environment. Additionally, the rating agency highlights the predictability in revenues and cash flow from the acquisition of Interconexión Eléctrica S.A. (ISA) and its lines of business into the Ecopetrol Group.

The rating agency considers Ecopetrol’s liquidity position as adequate, given that its cash sources would be at least 1.2 times above the company’s own needs for the next 12 months.

In its rating report, S&P notes that Ecopetrol has an extensive portfolio of projects for the next 10 years and specific decarbonization goals to face the challenges of the energy transition, in line with the plans of the new government.

Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent, with more than 18,000 employees. In Colombia, it is responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution segments.

With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA’s shares, the company participates in energy transmission, the management of real-time systems (XM), and the Barranquilla – Cartagena coastal highway concession. At the international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in the American continent, with drilling and exploration operations in the United States (Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico), Brazil, and Mexico, and, through ISA and its subsidiaries, Ecopetrol also holds leading positions in the power transmission business in Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, road concessions in Chile, and the telecommunications sector.

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The approved investment budget is in line with the new corporate strategy, and is attuned to the challenging situation of the international oil market.  Accordingly, investments budgeted for 2016 will be 40% less than those that were planned for 2015.

The plan focuses on achieving greater efficiencies and profitability in all of the Ecopetrol Group’s areas, with an emphasis on capital discipline, cost reduction and efficiency.

Progress achieved in the Business Transformation Program will yield optimizations and projected savings ofUS$760 million in 2015.

These savings will be maintained for 2016 and additional cost reductions will be sought in dilution of heavy crudes, renegotiation of contracts, efficient management of corporate expenses and a culture of savings and austerity.

Ecopetrol Group investment plan will allow for maintaining average daily production of around 755 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (MBOED), of which 690 (MBOED) come from Ecopetrol S.A., figures similar to those reached in 2015.

Of the total investment approved of US$4.8 billion for the Ecopetrol Group, US$2,782 million will be invested in projects of Ecopetrol S.A., and US$2,018 million in projects of its affiliates and subsidiaries.

96% of the investments will be made in Colombia, and 4% abroad through affiliates of Ecopetrol S.A. The largest part of the investments will be allocated to more efficient production of crude oil and gas, evaluate recent exploratory discoveries, startup of the new Cartagena refinery, and strengthening transport capacity.

The investments that have been approved are broken down by segment below:

The funds required for Ecopetrol S.A.’s US$2,782 million investment plan and the company’s contribution to investments in affiliates and subsidiaries in the amount of US$ 1,035 million, will come from internal cash generation, divestment of non-strategic assets and financing mechanisms. The Company has borrowing capacity, an investment grade rating, and access to capital markets in Colombia and abroad.