Under tariff threat, Colombia agrees to take back deportees

Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo on Sunday said the country’s government had accepted all of U.S. President Donald Trump’s terms to avoid significant tariffs. The statement came after Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Colombia.

What’s the economic significance of Columbia? The country is a leading supplier of oils, flowers, metal, and coffee to the United States. The United States is Colombia’s largest trade partner, and Colombia is the United States’ third-largest trade partner in Latin America, according to the U.S. State Department—behind Mexico and Brazil. Colombia agreed to accept all illegal aliens returned to the country from the United States, including those sent back onboard American military aircraft, without limitations, according to the White House.

The United States will leave in place visa sanctions and enhanced border inspections imposed on Colombian government officials and their families until the first planeload of deportees arrives in Columbia. Deporting illegal immigrants aboard military aircraft is not a new practice exclusive to the Trump administration, having been a standard procedure for the Department of Homeland Security for years.

How did politicians in Colombia initially react to Trump’s threat? Colombian President Gustavo Petro approved the deportation flights previously but then canceled the authorization when the planes were in the air, said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In doing so, Petro ordered officials to turn away planes carrying deportees and said he would impose retaliatory tariffs on American goods following Trump’s statements. His office later said the presidential plane would be used to return Colombian citizens to the country. Meanwhile, the Mayor of Medellin Fico Gutierrez on Sunday called for a coalition of Colombian mayors to travel to the United States to tell Trump that Petro did not represent them. Medellin is Columbia’s second-largest city after the capital, Bogota.

Dig deeper: Read my report about Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada.