Experts: Trump's Actions Toward Colombia Show His Hand in Future Tariff Negotiations
President Donald Trump's recent threat to slap Colombia with a 25% tariff could serve as a harbinger for how he could interact with Canada, Mexico and other trading partners when it comes to tariffs, according to industry observers interviewed by International Trade Today.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Over the weekend, Trump threatened to levy a 25% tariff on Colombian goods that would increase to 50% after one week following Colombian President Gustavo Petro's refusal to allow U.S. military planes carrying deported Colombian migrants to land. Petro shot back with plans to slap a 25% tariff on U.S. exports to Colombia before both sides reached an agreement that included allowing the migrants entry back into Colombia.
The incident with Colombia follows Trump's remarks last week during his first day in office reiterating plans to levy 25% tariffs on major U.S. trading partners Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1 (see 2501200003).
"Trump has revealed a playbook that his team could use to deploy to immigration-related tariffs, sanctions and maybe even visa restrictions on Canada and Mexico," trade attorney Richard Mojica told ITT.
Diego Rodriguez, logistics practice director for Coral Gables, Florida-based Americas Market Intelligence, echoed Mojica's remarks.
"Trump used Colombia as an example that he is not playing with his tariff threats. This situation was perfect for Trump because trade with Colombia accounted for roughly 35 billion dollars in 2024, which pales compared to the 2 trillion dollars in trade with Mexico, Canada, and China, making it much easier for his administration to issue tariffs because the impact would be very targeted," Rodriguez said. "This was a great opportunity for Trump to set the example in the region that he is serious about using the economy as a diplomatic weapon, especially considering how important immigration issues are for him and his supporting base."
Trump's action also shows to Mexico and Canada that he isn't afraid to pull the trigger and slap tariffs on allied countries like Colombia, Rodriguez added.
Another takeaway from this weekend's ruckus with Colombia also shows Trump's willingness to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as the means to levy tariffs (see 2411260050), according to a Jan. 7 blog post by trade attorney Ted Murphy.
Trump's actions from this weekend show that he "is willing to use IEEPA to impose tariffs and does not feel limited to using the trade statutes he used to impose additional tariffs in his first administration," Murphy said. "This is significant because, unlike these other trade statutes, IEEPA does not require any process. Instead, action can be taken if the president declares a 'national emergency' with respect to an 'unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.'"
Murphy also said this weekend's actions show Trump's willingness to use tariffs to address non-tariff and non-trade issues, meaning that "tariffs could be used in response to almost anything."