US President Donald Trump imposed customs duties and a travel ban on Colombia on Sunday, after the country in South America refused to allow two aircraft carrying migrants deported to land on its territory.
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(Bloomberg) – US President Donald Trump imposed customs definitions and a travel ban on Colombia on Sunday, after the country in South America refused to allow two aircraft deported to land on its soil.
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In a post on social media, Trump said he ordered an emergency tariff of 25% on all Colombian goods coming to the United States, which will be raised to 50% in one week. Oil, gold, coffee and flowers top the export list, according to the Colombian tax authorities.
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He also called for the imposition of a travel embargo and the immediate abolition of visas on Colombian government officials “and all allies and supporters” in addition to imposing sanctions on party members, family members and supporters of President Gustavo Petro.
Trump said: “Petro’s refusal for these flights has endangered the national security and public safety of the United States,” Trump said.
Petro said earlier on Sunday that he would reject US flights that carry immigrants unless they are treated with dignity, not as criminals. Brazil received 88 immigrants on Friday, who were handcuffed and handcuffed.
Colombia said in a statement on Sunday that it would display the presidential plane to arrange the return flights to the migrants scheduled to return to Colombia on Sunday, considering that the military aircraft used by Trump is insulting to migrants.
While most of the South American countries are now making more business with China, the United States remains the first trade partner of Colombia.
Between January and November 2024, Colombian exports to the United States amounted to $ 13 billion, an increase of approximately 8% compared to the same period in 2023. Colombians in the United States are also born strong cultural ties and financial transfers.
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Colombia is the fourth largest exporter of foreign oil for the United States, superior to both Saudi Arabia and Brazil, according to the Energy Information Administration. The latest data showed that Colombia ships more than 215 thousand barrels of crude oil per day to the American ports.
About a third, or 29 %, Colombian exports go to the United States.
Trump also said in his post that he would enhance the inspections conducted by customs and the protection of American borders for all Colombian citizens and goods for national security reasons. He added that in light of his executive authority, financial and banking penalties will be fully imposed.
Trump directed a new threat when he took office to impose customs duties on Canada, Mexico and China on the first of February, which he said will achieve a balance between commercial deals and collect revenues to compensate for his local legislative proposals. During his campaign, he considered creating a global basic tariff as a way to stimulate manufacturing and business in the United States.
But Trump’s response to Petro rejects some of the deported immigrants shows how to see customs tariffs as an economic weapon that can be deployed against governments that may challenge his geopolitical goals. It sends a strong message to the world that even the old political allies will not be safe if they do not cooperate with its goals.
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Colombia was historically one of Washington’s largest allies in Latin America and a major recipient of American aid and military aid. However, as one of the prominent leftist leaders in Latin America, Petro was already on the wrong side of Trump. Petro engaged China and criticized Israel for the number of people between the Palestinians in its war with Hamas.
“Petro’s response to Trump was a fool, and it was a battle in which he would not win,” said Sergio Joseman, a Colombia analyst for risk analysis. He added: “Social media publications have consequences, and they will be a difficult moment for Colombia because it will have real repercussions for us.”
He said: “This cannot come in the worst moment for the Colombian flower industry,” due to the approaching Valentine’s Day.
The relations between the two countries were already dangerous after last week, when the Marxist National Liberation Army fighters roaming from a house to a house with the menus in an attempt to completely control Katatombo, a mountainous area producing cocaine near the Venezuelan border.
As a result, Colombia is likely to face the withdrawal of ratification as a partner in the war on drugs, which puts it in the same category of rogue states such as Venezuela during the era of Nicholas Maduro – even if the effect on the reputation is more financially.
The White House said it had arrested 538 illegal immigrants, and began using military aircraft to evacuate them during the first 100 hours of the administration’s work.
With the help of Joe Carroll, Walter Brandimarti, and Oscar Medina.
(Updates all over with details)
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