US President Donald Trump would hold off on imposing threatened tariffs and sanctions on Colombia after reaching a deal on the return of deported migrants, the White House said.
The South American nation “agreed to all of President Trump’s terms, including the unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement late on Sunday.
The order of tariffs and sanctions would remain unsigned “unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement,” she added.
Photo: AFP
Colombian President Gustavo Petro retweeted the White House statement shortly after it was issued.
Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luis Gilberto Murillo in a video said that both countries overcame the diplomatic “impasse,” adding that the Andean nation would continue to receive deported nationals from the US.
Murillo added that he plans to travel to Washington alongside the Colombian ambassador to the US in the coming days to follow up on the agreements between the two countries.
“We will continue receiving the Colombians who return as deportees, guaranteeing them conditions of dignity,” Murillo said.
Earlier in the day, Trump rattled global markets when he ordered his administration to impose tariffs and sanctions on Colombia for refusing to allow two military planes carrying deported migrants to land.
In a social media post, Trump said he would put an emergency 25 percent tariff on all Colombian goods coming into the US, which would be raised to 50 percent in a week, as well as travel curbs and unspecified sanctions.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday said that he ordered a suspension of visa issuance at the US embassy in Bogota and authorized other travel restrictions on those responsible for interfering with the flights.
Those “visa sanctions,” as well as enhanced inspections by customs officials, would remain in effect until the first plane of Colombian deportees is successfully returned, Leavitt said.
Trump’s abrupt tariff threat left a cloud hanging over global markets even after the decision was reversed. The weekend announcement made it clear that tariffs would be the first weapon Trump turns to for policy disagreements, while the rapid resolution would do little to quell investor uncertainty over their usage.
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