Colombia's president asks Trump to suspend tariffs after earthquake

Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella has asked US President Donald Trump to suspend tariffs in view of the enormous earthquake damage in his country. The new Colombian head of state announced this on the X platform on Saturday evening. So far there has been no public reaction from Trump.

De la Espriella reported on a ten-minute telephone conversation with his counterpart who had supported him in the election campaign. During the conversation, he asked Trump to consider a “temporary suspension of high tariffs affecting Colombian products.” This is intended to provide relief to Colombian entrepreneurs who were going through “very difficult times” due to the earthquake.

Just in July, the USA increased customs duties on Colombian goods (with exceptions) from 10 to 12.5 percent. The South American country was hit on Monday by one of the worst earthquakes in decades, claiming almost 300 lives.

The Trump administration had announced aid for Colombia amounting to 26.5 million US dollars (around 22.9 million euros). The USA is supporting with rescue teams, but also with food, emergency shelter and medical supplies. De la Espriella thanked Trump for the “solidarity and support” of the United States.

A few days ago, Colombia joined Trump's anti-drug alliance “The Shield of the Americas”. According to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Colombia and the USA also agreed on joint military operations against the drug cartels.

Economic emergency after earthquake

Abelardo de la Espriella had already highlighted the state's emergency situation on Thursday. “Given the magnitude of this tragedy, we have decided to declare a state of economic emergency in order to take extraordinary measures that will allow us to help the affected families and accelerate the reconstruction of the damaged areas,” the president wrote on X.

“We will also take measures to revive the economy, boost investment and create employment in hard-hit areas,” he added. “The priority is our people: to ease their burdens, rebuild what was lost and restore serenity.”