Trump announces 25% tariffs on Colombia for refusing to land two flights with deported migrants

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced this Sunday the imposition of tariffs on Colombia after this country did not allow two repatriation flights for undocumented migrants to land. The activation of a 25% tax on all Colombian assets will rise to 50% in one week, as reported by the president on his Truth Social network.

This Sunday is not only the first retaliation adopted by the Republican Administration against another country for immigration issues: it is also the first formal announcement of tariffs, despite the repeated threats made by the Republican during the campaign and – more recently – in his inauguration last Monday. These measures, the president has indicated, “are just the beginning.” “We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations regarding the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!” concludes the post of the republican.

Aside from the purely commercial, Trump’s announcement includes a broader package of sanctions. Added to the “emergency tariffs” are “the travel ban and the immediate revocation of visas for Colombian government officials and all their allies and sympathizers; visa sanctions on all party members, family members and supporters of the Colombian Government; reinforced customs inspections of all Colombian nationals and cargo for national security reasons and full imposition of fiscal, banking and financial sanctions,” according to the Truth Social publication.

Less than a week after Trump once again assumed the presidency of the leading world power, his Administration has clashed head-on with the left-wing Government of Gustavo Petro in Colombia. The South American president had announced in the early hours of this Sunday that he will not allow the arrival of North American military flights with deported Colombians. However, two of these flights were scheduled to arrive on Sunday with at least 160 people on board. As the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, later explained, the Colombian president had initially authorized the flights, and later canceled the entry permit when the devices were already in the air.

The Republican responded hours later to Petro’s rejection with the indefinite suspension of operations in the visa section of his embassy in Bogotá. And also with the promise of more retaliation, which has culminated in the form of tariffs.

For Colombia’s economy, exports to the United States are fundamental. A quarter of the total is destined for the North American country, according to data from 2022, and is concentrated in basic products: almost 40% was crude oil, another 11% coffee and 10.5% flowers. This last sector, with epicenters near Bogotá and Medellín and 200,000 jobs—half of them women heads of households—appears as the first victim: the Valentine’s Day celebration is a peak moment for sales to the United States, with 20% of all exports in 2023. The second largest flower exporter in the world expected to ship 45,000 tons of flowers this year, worth $40 million (38 million euros).

The tightening of immigration policy was one of the axes of the magnate’s campaign, and also one of the issues that concentrated the barrage of executive orders that have defined his government agenda. On his first day in the White House alone, more than 300 migrants were detained in the United States in raids. “The largest mass deportation operation in history is underway. Promises made. “Promises kept,” said a government statement issued on Friday. Colombia is one of the main countries sending migrants to the United States, and Petro has demanded “dignified treatment” for those sent back to the country.

In an official statement from the Presidency, the Colombian Government confirmed its participation in the Extraordinary Assembly of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), convened for next January 30, where crucial issues such as cooperation between member countries on matters will be addressed. immigration and the protection of human rights. At the same time, they announced that the presidential plane will be available to facilitate the dignified return of the compatriots who were going to arrive in Colombia today. “In no way have Colombians, as patriots and subjects of rights, been or will be banished from Colombian territory,” it reads.

In response, the North American Secretary of State announced on Sunday morning that it will temporarily suspend the processing and issuance of visas in Bogotá, a measure that affects thousands of Colombians. Petro, in turn, responded by recalling that there are 15,560 Americans irregularly established in Colombia and demanding that they present themselves to local authorities.

“For the dignity of all Colombians”

Laura Sarabia, the number two of the left-wing president and who will take office as chancellor on February 1, also spoke on X (formerly Twitter). He assured that the Government reaffirms its commitment to a “dignified” return of its compatriots, based on three points: “Guarantee respectful and humane treatment, ensure adequate conditions, with civil and dignified transportation, open to dialogue with the United States to verify protocols and strengthen them.” And he settled: “For the dignity of all Colombians.”

A little over a year ago, during Joe Biden’s mandate, Colombia and the United States had signed a new protocol for the return of repatriated or deported nationals that accelerated the process and expanded the frequency of flights to an average of four per month. This agreement was violated with the promise to expel all irregular immigrants “massively” from the country that Trump now presides over.

Petro’s refusal occurs in the midst of the controversy that exists in several Latin American countries over the tightening of immigration measures in Washington. The Government of Brazil denounced this Saturday the use of handcuffs by US authorities against citizens of the country during a deportation flight. The Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, ordered the Federal Police to ask the agents to “immediately” withdraw them, as soon as the plane made a technical stop in the city of Manaus.

Meanwhile, it is unknown how Washington will proceed with the return of undocumented immigrants to countries with which it maintains tense or even non-existent relations, such as Venezuela – tens of thousands of Venezuelans have arrived in the United States since 2022 – on Thursday they were returned to Guatemala in military aircraft the first deported from that origin. The expulsion of people without papers continues through land ports of entry along the US southern border, although Mexico also appeared to turn around a military flight bound for the country last week, CNN reported.

The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, promised this Friday that there will be a comprehensive strategy to guarantee employment and social programs for repatriated people. “We have been preparing to receive Mexicans who have space on the border and in other places so that they can have access to social programs, employment, to be able to move around our national territory to go to their places of origin. “said the president during her morning conference. Mexicans are about half of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States and their remittances represent almost 4% of Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP), which in 2024 would have received an estimated $65 billion.