Pursuant to Law No. 816, public administration entities that, under the applicable contracting regime, must select contractors through tenders, calls for bids, or public competitions are required to apply objective evaluation criteria that favour domestic industry. Art. 2 provides that bids offering goods and services of Colombian origin benefit from a margin of preference of 10% to 20%, while bids offering foreign goods and services that incorporate inputs of Colombian origin benefit from a margin of preference of 5% to 15%. The concept of “origin” for services was amended by Decree No. 680 of 2021 to encompass the domestic goods and labour required to supply those services.

Art. 35 of Law No. 2069 of 2020 establishes the tie-break mechanism applicable to public procurement processes. Where two or more bids obtain the same total score, the contracting entity must apply a series of criteria sequentially and exclusively, in the order listed, while ensuring consistency with Colombia’s international commitments, until the tie is resolved. The first criterion is a preference for national goods and services over foreign goods and services. Other criteria include the preference for companies employing at least 10% of the workforce that is indigenous, Black/Afro-Colombian, Raizal, Palenquero, and Gypsy populations, and a preference for bids submitted by SMEs, cooperatives, or mutual associations.

There have been frequent complaints about the lack of transparency and rule changes during the award of major government contracts. It has been reported that, despite Law No. 80, transparency, fairness, and truly competitive bidding conditions in many tenders remain uncertain. These factors remain significant market access barriers for some companies interested in public sector contracts.

Colombia is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 1996.

According to Art. 15 of Law 9 of 1991, the general regime for the investment of foreign capital in the country and Colombian investments abroad is established by the National Government. With the exception of those matters relating to the transfer of resources abroad, foreign investment in Colombia shall be treated for all purposes in the same manner as the investment of Colombian nationals.

It is reported that the provision of data processing and information services in Colombia necessitates the establishment of a formal commercial presence.

It is reported that patent applicants who are not resident in Colombia must appoint an agent in the country by submitting a simple power of attorney. Any attorney registered in Colombia may act as the appointed agent.

Colombia is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Colombia has a copyright regime under Law No. 23. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 31-44 list the exceptions, which include the use of literary or artistic works or parts thereof as illustrations in works intended for educational purposes; and the reproduction, distribution, and communication to the public of news or other information relating to facts or events that have been publicly disseminated by the press or by broadcasting; among others.
Moreover, Colombia is a member of the Andean Community of Nations and is subject to Decision 351, issued in 1993. Art. 22 of the Decision sets forth a list of mandatory exceptions in the internal market but also allows the adoption of additional exceptions in the domestic law of members, as long as they comply with the international standards of the so-called three-step test.

Colombia is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Resolution 1,463 states that mobile devices destined for public mobile telephony and data transmission services to be distributed or commercialized in the Chilean market must: be homologated, certified and validated by an authorised entity (SUBTEL), among other requirements. There is a transparent protocol of homologation (Annex II of the Resolution). According to Art. 3, a certificate of a country where a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) applies is accepted for the purpose of homologation.
Under Exempt Resolution No. 737, mandatory certification applies solely to designated categories of medical devices, while all other short‑range devices demonstrate regulatory compliance through a compulsory QR code displayed on the product packaging. This QR code must direct users to a publicly accessible, Spanish‑language webpage containing specific required information, including the local importer’s business name, Chilean address, and contact details; the identification of a legal representative in Chile, which is obligatory for foreign manufacturers; a downloadable PDF test report issued by an accredited laboratory holding at least two internationally recognised accreditations (such as FCC, CE/ETSI or ISO/IEC 17025); a signed, downloadable declaration of conformity; and evidence of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) certification. The regulation encompasses a broad range of equipment, including Wi‑Fi devices (routers, access points and IoT products), Bluetooth devices (headphones, speakers and wearables), Zigbee devices used in home automation, RFID readers and active tags, IoT sensors and telemetry units, and other short‑range devices such as wireless microphones, radio alarms and ultra‑wideband (UWB) equipment.

Decree No. 473 stipulates that the de minimis threshold, defined as the minimum value of goods below which customs duties are not levied, is set at USD 500. In October 2025, this threshold was increased from USD 41 to the current level of USD 500.

According to Art. 152 of Chapter X (included in September 2022 by Law No. 21.431) of the Labour Code of Chile, the employment contract of dependent digital platform workers shall indicate an official channel where the worker can present his/her objections, claims or requirements. The indicated channel must have a physical place of attention, a local telephone and a company representative responsible for attending to the described purposes. The law defines a digital service platform company as an entity that operates or manages a computer or technological system executable on mobile or fixed device applications for a fee.
Resolutions 2 and 3 of the SII Exempt Resolution No. 101 stipulate that digital service platform companies without domicile or residence in Chile are required to designate a representative within the country. This Exempt Resolution was issued within the framework of the implementation of Law No. 21.431.