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Regarding his possible departure, José Manuel Restrepo assures that his position is of free removal and that his job options include politics.
2020 was a difficult year for all sectors of the economy. 2.44 million jobs were lost, companies were closed and more than half a million micro-businesses were closed, according to DANE figures. There was also a step back in terms of tourism and trade. To reverse the ravages of the pandemic and offer mechanisms for reactivation, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (Mincit) launched credits, programs, strategies and laws.
José Manuel Restrepo, head of the portfolio, says that 2020 left four important instruments: the tourism and entrepreneurship laws, the agreement with the United Kingdom and the Free Trade Agreement with Israel, which will be the Ministry’s route during 2021.
However, for some time there have been rumors about his departure from the cabinet and this Tuesday the Colombian Chamber of Clothing and Related Products, given what they say are unfulfilled campaign promises and not reaching agreements “after 34 meetings held in two years and six months ”with the minister on tariffs for the textile industry, he asked President Iván Duque to delegate a minister to this.
“The decision of whether or not one continues in a position of this responsibility and commitment rests exclusively with the President of the Republic. He is the one who invites you to be part of the Government or who tells you that, within the framework of this free appointment and removal, you should not continue in the Government, ”explains Restrepo.
The former rector of the Universidad del Rosario assures that, so far, President Iván Duque has not asked him not to continue in office. However, he says that if Duque “invites” him to a process of change, he would have to review his options, which include the private sector, return to academia, and does not even rule out the possibility of participating in political exercise. “If so, I would do it from the party with which I have had some kind of relationship and that I supported since I was little: the Conservative Party. It would be necessary to see if there is the possibility of participating in this activity ”.
Thus, Restrepo makes several projections for this year. Regarding the tourism sector, he points out that the challenge is to regulate the recent law so that it works as an instrument for economic reactivation.
“The long-term purpose of the tourism law is to formulate a sustainable tourism policy, implement competitiveness and quality through the regulation of electronic platforms, increase the number of tourist guides and include the activity within the Consumer Statute tour”.
It also ensures that the entrepreneurship law is in the regulatory process and that it seeks to reduce costs for micro and small entrepreneurs, as well as the possibility of entering into public purchases and using new forms of financing, such as fundraising.
With the agreement with the United Kingdom they hope to take advantage of the relationship between the two countries to attract investment and motivate trade. Finally, the FTA with Israel seeks to be “an instrument that opens a new market with a tariff preference.”
In addition to these instruments, created between October and December 2020 and which will be the protagonists in 2021, there are other tools such as the new mega-investment decree that is being worked hand in hand with Procolombia, the adjustments to the Vallejo Plan to make it faster and offer the service to more MSMEs, special tourism projects in some regions of the country and, according to the minister, in two weeks the new decree for free zones would come out, which will incorporate electronic commerce.
According to Restrepo, Colombia has other challenges such as working so that businesses make the transition to formality and taking advantage of leadership in international instances to promote multilateralism and free trade as an instrument for economic growth. It is worth remembering that the country is also in charge of the presidency for the moment CAN, the Pacific Alliance and Prosur.
The presidency of Prosur will seek to develop a business dialogue that will address issues such as the development of the production capacity of medicines and vaccines in the region and a “joint strategy” around business, social and environmental sustainability.
On the other hand, although the minister acknowledges that the textile sector was one of the hardest hit, he highlights that mask exports exceeded US $ 40 million. “At the beginning of the pandemic, we began to develop productive capacity through internationalization programs and recognition of opportunities in new markets. The industrial counterclaim allowed us to go from exporting US $ 100,000 in 2019 to exceeding US $ 40 million in 2020. From the US there are recurrent calls to businessmen in the sector to export fashion and clothing products. There is also an interest in replacing Chinese suppliers and those from other countries in the world ”.
Finally, given the criticism that the Government has received for supporting SMEs, Restrepo says that they have worked on an entrepreneurship policy, aimed at MSMEs, “which Conpes and the law have, and the purpose of generating an entrepreneurial culture.” In addition, in the framework of the pandemic, it says that there was an “increase in financing resources for entrepreneurs between Innpulsa, Bancóldex and the National Guarantee Fund”, with the C Emprende program they sought to motivate the enterprises related to the needs that arose with the pandemic, among others.
“This year we have two goals: safe reactivation and mass vaccination. With this we want to generate confidence, because it is the key path to economic recovery. In this Ministry we are going to dedicate ourselves to reactivate. This year is to recover jobs and contribute to the growth of the country ”, Restrepo points out.
