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Published 05:23 IST, January 27th 2025

Colombia Imposes 25% Tariff On US Goods In Response To Trump's Restrictions As Trade War Escalates

Colombia and the US are engaged in a heated trade dispute with tariffs on each other's goods.

Reported by: Digital Desk
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Colombia Imposes 25% Tariff On US Goods In Response To Trump's Restrictions As Trade War Escalates
Colombia Imposes 25% Tariff On US Goods In Response To Trump's Restrictions As Trade War Escalates | Image: Shutterstock/ Representational

Bogota: Colombia and the US are engaged in a heated trade dispute with tariffs on each other's goods. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ordered a 25 percent increase in import tariffs on US goods, retaliating against a similar move by President Donald Trump. The tariffs fight began when Petro rejected two US military flights carrying migrants to Colombia, citing concerns over their treatment. Trump responded by announcing tariffs, visa restrictions, and other retaliatory measures against Colombia.

According to Trump, the rejection of the flights "jeopardised" national security in the US. He also stated that Colombia has a legal obligation to accept repatriation flights.

Colombia has accepted 475 deportation flights from the US between 2020 and 2024. However, Petro has insisted that migrants must be treated with dignity and not as criminals.

The trade dispute may impact various US industries, including oil, coffee, and flower imports. Colombia is the US' fourth-largest overseas supplier of crude oil and the largest supplier of fresh-cut flowers.

Petro in a post on X said he had ordered Colombia's “foreign trade minister to raise import tariffs from the US by 25%.” US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was ordering tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures to be taken against Colombia after its government rejected two US military flights carrying migrants.

Trump said the measures were necessary because the decision of Colombian President Gustavo Petro “jeopardized” national security in the US.

“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. 

“We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States,” the US President stated. 

Earlier Sunday, Petro said his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with “dignity.” 

Petro made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet. “A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves,” Petro said. 

He said, “That is why I returned the US military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants. In civilian planes, without being treated like criminals, we will receive our fellow citizens." 

Notably, Colombia accepted 475 deportation flights from the United States from 2020 to 2024, fifth behind Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and El Salvador, according to Witness at the Border, an advocacy group that tracks flight data. It accepted 124 deportation flights in 2024.

Updated 05:23 IST, January 27th 2025