Colombia backs down on immigrants, exports of coffee, cocoa will continue entering the US tariff free
Colombia backs down on immigrants, exports of coffee, cocoa will continue entering the US tariff free
Coffee Network (Bogota)- Colombian president Gustavo Petro agreed to take deported illegal Colombian migrants from the US in a bid to avert an economic crisis after US president Donald Trump slapped tariffs of 25pc on Colombian exports, which would have hit mainly coffee and cacao exports, following Petro’s refusal to take back the migrants.
The diplomatic crisis between the two nations erupted on Sunday after Trump said he would enact a 25pc tariff on all goods coming into the US from Colombia, which will be raised to 50pc in one week, after two repatriation flights of undocumented migrants were not allowed to land in Colombia. The measure would have hit coffee, cut flowers, avocado and fruits among others as well as oil exports.
President Petro at first said in the afternoon that Colombia would retaliate by imposing 50pc tariffs on US goods, but the White House on Sunday evening later said that Colombia had agreed to accept migrants - including those arriving on US military aircraft - "without limitation or delay”.
The US had also imposed travel bans and immediate revocation of visas for Colombian government officials and Petro’s allies and supporters, while enhanced Customs and Border Protection inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo for national security reasons. -IEEPA sanctions on Treasury, Banking, and Finance will be imposed in full.
On Sunday evening, the White House said the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement. Planes carrying undocumented Colombian have taken off from the US and are expected to arrive in Colombia in the afternoon, outgoing foreign minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said today.
The US is Colombia’s largest trading partner, accounting for 34pcof Colombia’s total trade, and Colombia is a top ten supplier of crude oil to the US, according to US department of State. Meanwhile, Colombia is the fifth-largest export market in the Western Hemisphere. Colombia imported US $13.304 billion of US products in January-October, while Colombia exported $13.106 billion in January-November, according to the US-Colombian chamber of commerce (Amcham), using figures from the country’s statistics department.
Colombia exported 11.018 million 60-kg bags in January-November, of which 4.344 million bags were shipped to the United States, according to the country’s coffee exporters association Asoexport. Currently, coffee enters the US without tariffs.
Coffee exports to the US were worth US$1.29 billion as of November, compared with $1.35 billion in full year 2023, the coffee growers federation said.
German Bahamon, FNC’s general manager, said diplomacy requires moderation.
“States build and maintain their relationship in a permanent negotiation, which is based on diplomacy. Diplomacy requires moderation because an unfortunate decision can lead to an economic impact of devastating consequences,” he said.
The US is by far the largest buyer of Colombia coffee as Canada was the second-largest buyer of coffee, securing a distant 826,152 bags. Belgium is next after it purchased 802,168 bags.
The US-Colombia chamber of commerce, welcomed the agreement reached between the governments of Colombia and the United States. “Although this crisis seems to be over, what happened should be a lesson to reinforce joint work between all sectors of society, in order to strengthen and preserve the strategic relations between both countries. Dialogue and cooperation must continue to be the basis of our bilateral relationship,” Maria Claudia Lacouture, AMCham director said.
The United States remains Colombia’s main trading partner. Exports were recorded at US$13.10 billion, representing 29% of total sales, according to the country’s statistics department DANE.
By Diana Delgado
