U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on January 23, 2025.
Roberto Schmidt | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump's newly announced tariffs on goods from Colombia could drive up the price of some items Americans buy every day.
Trump said in a social media post on Sunday that he would immediately impose a blanket 25% tariff on all goods imported into the United States from Colombia, among other sanctions. The announcement came after Colombia rejected a US military flight of deported migrants. Trump also said tariffs would rise to 50% in a week.
A tariff is essentially a tax on goods imported into a country. While the importing company pays the tax, the cost is often passed on to other parties, including U.S. consumers, in the form of higher prices.
Which objects are hit?
Colombia is not one of the US's largest trading partners, but high tariffs could have billions of dollars in impact on economic activity. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative estimates total U.S.-Colombia bilateral trade at $53.5 billion per year as of 2022, with the U.S. running a trade surplus of $3.9 billion.
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), petroleum is Colombia's largest export to the United States, worth around $6 billion in 2022.
Oil is a two-way trade between countries, as refined petroleum from the United States is the largest export to Colombia.
The second largest export from Colombia was coffee at $1.8 billion, according to the OEC. Colombia accounts for about 20% of coffee shipped to the U.S. and is the second-largest source of imports after Brazil, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Tariffs on coffee could put pressure on Americans who already have to pay for their drinks. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of coffee rose 3.8% in 2024, exceeding the overall inflation rate.
Cut flowers were the third largest import from Colombia at $1.6 billion. Other items regularly shipped from Colombia to the United States include gold and aluminum structures.
A worker arranges bouquets of flowers at a plantation in Tocancipa, near Bogota, Colombia.
Daniel Munoz | AFP | Getty Images
International tensions
The tariffs against Colombia are a fallout from the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal migrants in the United States. Mexico and Brazil are among other countries that have raised objections to the U.S. plan to send migrants back to their former hometowns.
During his campaign, Trump promoted tariffs as a way to increase government revenue and force other countries to follow U.S. policies.
“We will not allow the Colombian government to violate its legal obligations to welcome and return the criminals it has forced into the United States,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Meanwhile, rival China has expanded its trade ties with Colombia and is now the country's second largest trading partner. The outbreak of a trade dispute with Colombia over Trump's immigration policies could be an opening for China, which is thirsty for both Colombian oil and Colombian coffee.
—CNBC's Steve Liesman contributed reporting.
Comments are closed.