Colombia avoids trade war with US

28/1/2025 6:08

Colombia's

President Gustavo Petro averted an economic disaster at the 11th

hour after diplomats from his government and the U.S. reached a

deal on deportation flights, but the Colombian business

community on Monday called for cooler heads to prevail as

Colombians bemoaned canceled U.S. visa appointments.

U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions

to punish Colombia for refusing to accept military flights

carrying deportees, part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.



But in a statement late on Sunday, the White House said

Colombia had agreed to accept the migrants after all and

Washington would not impose the penalties. Colombia's Foreign

Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said separately the country's

presidential plane was ready to carry deportees.



Colombia's ambassador to the U.S., Daniel Garcia-Pena, a

long-time diplomat and former peace commissioner, was key to the

late-night resolution of the dispute, a Colombian foreign office

source said, after "very tense" discussions.



Garcia-Pena sought to paint the late-night reversal as a

victory for Colombia.

"There was a win-win here. The United States withdrew the threat

of tariffs and Colombia was able to get the United States to

accept that the treatment given to our citizens should be

dignified," Garcia-Pena told local television channel Caracol.



Asked if Trump had used Petro as an example to other

countries, a White House source with knowledge of the matter

said "absolutely. Yes. Countries have an obligation to accept

repatriation flights."



"The United States is simply sending back the criminals that

Colombia sent to the United States," the source added.



Petro's condemnation of the use of military planes, saying

deportees were being treated like criminals and that his

administration is "the opposite of the Nazis", seemed to rile

Trump more than similar spats with Mexico and Brazil.



The showdown between Petro and Trump, who has been in office

a week, played out through verbose posts on social media, with

Petro on X and Trump on the Truth Social platform.

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.







VISA FRUSTRATION



The U.S. 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 U.S. trade surplus,

according to U.S. Census Bureau data.



The U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S.,

including as tourists, can take years and come 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 U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a

request for comment, nor did Petro's office or Colombia's

foreign ministry.