Colombian president says he asked Trump to suspend tariffs after devastating earthquake

Colombia’s new President Abelardo de la Espriella on Saturday called on President Trump to suspend tariffs currently targeting the South American nation, which is reeling after a deadly earthquake.

U.S. tariffs on Colombian products rose from 10% to 12.5% in late July, with a few exceptions including coffee and oil.

“I asked him to consider to temporarily suspend the high tariffs that are affecting Colombian products, in order to give some relief to our business owners, who are facing very difficult times due to the effects of the earthquake,” De la Espriella said on X.

The increased tariffs went into effect on July 24, replacing an expiring global duty rolled out by the Trump administration earlier this year.

De la Espriella said he has spoken for about 10 minutes with Mr. Trump, who he said expressed his condolences over the deaths from Monday’s 7.4-magnitude quake.

“The conversation was very friendly and cordial,” the Colombian leader said.

“I told him that we have a huge challenge ahead: rebuilding Colombia amid the extremely difficult and apocalyptic economic situation that I inherited.”

CBS News has reached out the White House for comment on the request. 

The tremor devastated the western Colombian cities of Cali and Pereira, leaving nearly 300 people dead and destroying almost 13,000 homes.

In July, the Trump administration imposed tariffs of up to 12.5% on 60 nations, including Colombia, which it accused of failing to stamp out forced labor. The tariffs were imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The Section 301 tariffs replaced levies enacted under Section 122 of the same trade act which had been imposed in February and had just expired.

The White House moves to enact tariffs under Section 122 and then Section 301 came after the Supreme Court in February struck down sweeping tariffs Mr. Trump had enacted under a different law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, ruling that they were illegally imposed without congressional authorization.  

Mr. Trump endorsed the right-wing De la Espriella, a millionaire lawyer-turned-politician, during his run for the presidency. De la Espriella succeeded the leftist Gustavo Petro, whose administration was frequently at odds with the White House. Petro was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department last October, and CBS News reported in March that he was the subject of a federal narcotics probe. 

Since taking office, De la Espriella has joined the so-called Shield of the Americas,  an anti-cartel alliance headed by Mr. Trump and made up of pro-U.S. governments across Latin America, including Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador.

Member states exchange information and coordinate judicial and security forces to address transnational criminal activity.

De la Espriella plans to forge a military alliance with the U.S. and Israel to help bolster his war on guerrillas.

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