US envoy ‘concerned’ by Uber's departure from Colombia

COLOMBIA, Bogota

U.S. Ambassador to Bogota Philip Goldberg said Uber’s recent departure from Colombia could negatively affect foreign investment in the country.

"We are concerned that a company will have to cease operations while its competitors continue to operate with the same business model,” Goldberg told the Colombian-American Chamber of Commerce in Bogota, in reference to other services used by Colombians such as Beat, Didi and Cabify, which continue to operate. “This affects the investment environment for our companies in Colombia.”

Uber stopped providing services Feb. 1 in Colombia following a decision in a lawsuit by the Superintendence of Industry and Trade, on grounds that Uber Technologies violated the country’s competition law.

The lawsuit impacted Uber, Uber VAN and UberX and was filed by taxi company, COTECH SA.

Colombia’s President Ivan Duque said Feb. 3, the ride-sharing company is welcome in the country as long as it operates equally with local companies.

“What we have to look for is a regulation of a service that has a level playing field and full guarantees,” he said. “That is the approach we have and it is the way we want to advance.”

Unlike city-regulated taxi companies, Uber does not incur high costs associated with the right to transport taxi vehicles in Bogota.

Three days after Uber´s blackout in the country, it sent a formal communication to the Colombian government expressing its intention to submit to international arbitration -- a potential violation of a free trade agreement between the U.S. and Colombia.

The company said lawyers are assessing damages of $250 million and said it will invoke discriminatory treatment as outlined by the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement which prevents discrimination between companies in each other’s country and similar to other ride-sharing companies.

The remarks did not go over well in Colombia given that about one-fifth of the investment Colombia receives from the rest of the world comes from the U.S. making it the largest investor in the country and a very relevant player in the economy.

Uber had 2 million active users in Colombia and approximately 88,000 drivers, some of whom will migrate to other companies that are operating freely, at least for now.