Colombia avoids trade war with US as business community, citizens call for cooler heads
The measures announced by Trump, including a 25% tariff on all Colombian goods that was set to rise to 50% in a week and emergency treasury, banking and financial sanctions, would have had an “immense impact” on the Colombian economy, said Bruce Mac Master, president of business association ANDI.
“It was very worrying how the president (Petro) approached the problem because he was not conscious about all the consequences that it would have for the country,” Mac Master told Reuters.
“It’s as if Colombia had raised its hand and said ‘I want to be part of the fight, please include me.’ Well, they included us and we learned how we could potentially lose a lot,” Mac Master said, adding that leaders in Brazil and Mexico had handled the issue better.
The Colombian foreign ministry said later on Monday that an air force plane was departing for San Diego, California, to bring home 110 Colombian deportees. A second similar flight would depart in the coming days, it added.
VISA FRUSTRATION
The US is Colombia’s largest trading partner, largely due to a 2006 free trade agreement, with $33.8 billion worth of two-way trade in 2023 and a $1.6 billion US trade surplus, according to US Census Bureau data.
The US accounted for a little over 29% of Colombia’s exports in the first 11 months of 2024, according to Colombia’s statistics agency.
Billions of dollars of exports of Colombian oil, coal and coffee make their way north, as do around $1 billion in flowers, especially before next month’s Valentine’s Day event.
Colombia’s already weak currency was down in early trading on Monday. Economic growth was a tepid 2% in the third quarter.
The cancellation of visa appointments at the US embassy in Bogota frustrated many people, who told Reuters they had received emails saying appointments would be rescheduled.
The rigorous visa process for Colombians to go to the US, including as tourists, can take years and comes at great expense for those who must travel to the capital for several embassy appointments.
“We hope the president (Petro) will fix this,” said Diosa Camacho, who traveled from the eastern city of Bucaramanga. Camacho said she had been engaged in the visa process for more than a year.
Valentina Forero said her family has been in the process for two years and though she wants deportees to be treated with respect, she wished the spat had been handled differently.
“They should have discussed it between the two governments and not included the people,” she said. “It wasn’t diplomatic.”
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Petro’s office or Colombia’s foreign ministry.