The White House is buzzing. Donald Trump, the man who once threatened to tear up trade agreements, is now looking to build a new bridge to Bogotá. Sources close to the administration say Trump wants a “special relationship” with Colombia’s incoming president. A phone call is expected within days.
But here in London, the chatter is different. The Foreign Office is watching closely. A UK-Colombia trade deal, signed in 2020 after Brexit, is being quietly strengthened. Officials confirm that new provisions on digital trade and green energy are in the works. This is not a coincidence.
The calculation is simple. If Trump deepens US-Colombia ties, Britain wants to be in the room. The current trade deal, worth roughly £1.2bn annually, is being upgraded. A source in the Department for Business and Trade said: “We are not going to be left behind. Colombia is a gateway to Latin America.”
No. 10 is careful not to appear reactive. But the timing is telling. The UK-Colombia trade council is meeting next month. Agenda items include post-Brexit tariffs and investment in tech. Expect a flurry of announcements.
Meanwhile, the Labour opposition is piling on. Shadow trade minister Gareth Sneyd said the government is “grovelling” to Trump. “They should be focusing on human rights in Colombia, not trade boosts,” he told me. But the PM’s team brushes this off. They point to jobs and growth.
The bigger game is geopolitics. Trump’s outreach to Colombia’s new leader is part of his broader Latin America push. It’s also a signal to China, which has been investing heavily in the region. The UK, still finding its post-Brexit footing, wants to be part of the conversation.
One Cabinet minister put it bluntly: “We can’t afford to pick sides. We need trade with the US and with Colombia. This is about protecting British interests.”
So what happens next? Expect a joint statement from London and Bogotá within weeks. A new trade envoy is likely to be appointed. And watch for behind-the-scenes influence from Washington.
For now, the deal is being strengthened. Details are thin. But the direction is clear. Britain is hitching its wagon to a US-Colombia axis. Risky? Perhaps. But the P.M. is betting it pays off.
I’ll have more when I get it.
