Colombia has joined the BRICS New Development Bank, strengthening ties with the global forum led by China and Russia, amid warnings the pivot risks a rupture to trade relations with the United States.
The country’s acceptance to the development fund was announced by NDB president and former president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, at a meeting also attended by Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Russia during this week’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The announcement was warmly welcomed by Colombia’s Foreign Minister, Laura Sarabia, who tweeted: “I celebrate this news, which transcends financial matters and broadens our horizons.” Future bank funding could support infrastructure, sustainable development, and technical cooperation projects, she added.
Joining the New Development Bank brings President Gustavo Petro closer to his goal of joining BRICS but falls short of full membership to the global forum. BRICS, whose acronym stands for “Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa”, was created in 2009 as an alternative to the G7 bloc.
Today BRICS has grown to 10 members representing approximately 37% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and all with notable economic growth in recent decades. There are 13 more prospective nations waiting in the wings.
Mis-aligning
But aligning with BRICS could come at a cost to other trade relations, according to the Colombian American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) that promotes trade in the Americas.
“It must be rigorously analyzed,” said AmCham president María Claudia Lacouture responding to the announcement via her X account.
“Diversifying our international relations and sources of financing is necessary for the country. But this diversification must be done responsibly, transparently, and in accordance with our fiscal capacity, democratic principles, and respect for clear rules.”
For decades the United States has been Colombia’s strongest export market. From January until April 2025 the northern neighbor imported US$1.82 billion worth of goods – mostly oil but also gold, coffee, coal and cut flowers – according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC).
Recent tariff wars with the U.S. have tested trade relations, although the 10% tariffs currently imposed on Colombia by Washington are low compared to other countries, and are only applied to a minority of products, and may even bring comparative benefits compared to protectionist policies put on competing countries.
The concern now voiced mainly from the political right is that aligning with BRICS could put Colombia back on the naughty list with the Trump government. Early this year, the U.S. president threatened 100% tariffs on BRICS members if the bloc shifted from the U.S. dollar as its reserve currency.
“We require a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new BRICS currency, nor back any other currency to replace the mighty U.S. dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. economy,” the US president posted on Truth Social.
Cozying up to countries with “serious democratic problems such as Iran” could distance Colombia from its “natural allies” former presidential candidate Enrique Gómez announced this week. “Migrating toward authoritarian interests is not a good idea”, he said via X.
Uniting the oceans
For other analysts, joining the NDB could bring gain without pain; access to low-interest development funds with better terms than the International Monetary Fund or World Bank but without the political fallout of fully joining BRICS.
Although Colombia’s acceptance to the bank comes with an initial cost to the country of buying “shares” in the fund, pegged at little over US$500 million, there is an expectation of a return of development streams that the Petro government hopes will boost large infrastructure projects such as the US$6 billion Transoceanic Rail link proposed to carry cargo from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
Constructing a reliable transport link between Colombia’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts is still a paper plan after more than a century, but recently more viable with increased shipping and recent restrictions faced by the Panama Canal with low water levels.
The rail and possible canal link formed a key part of the pitch by Petro when he first applied to join NDB in May this year, meeting with bank president Rousseff at the headquarters in Shanghai during a visit to promote the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which Colombia currently leads.
The 120 kilometer (about 75 mile) rail connection would join the Gulf of Urabá, on the Atlantic coast, with Cupica in the Chocó, the mandate stated on his official social media account.
“It could unite all of Atlantic South America with Asia, improving its transportation costs. A global project that would make Colombia even more the heart of the world. A project that should be Gran Colombian and South American.”
Non-cooperation
The May announcement coincided with Colombia signing up to another Chinese partnership, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), more commonly referred to as the New Silk Road, which the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described as an “a new chapter in our foreign policy” but then downplayed as a “non-binding” agreement, probably with an eye on any reaction from Washington.
The U.S. has already sought to punish Latin American countries from forming pacts with China, with Panama this year pressured to scrub a cooperation pact originally signed in 2017 after a visit from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The U.S. Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs’ reaction to Colombia’s BRI move came soon after, on May 15, writing on its X account that “Chinese investments in Colombia and the region jeopardize the safety and security of the region”. The U.S. would seek to block any projects and funding linked to Chinese-controlled and state-owned enterprises in Colombia, it stated.
How the U.S. might react to Colombia joining BRICS’ National Development Bank remains to be seen. What is clear, is that the country walks a tightrope between keeping on the good side of its fractious main export partner while forging new partnerships in the global south.