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Trump shelves Colombia sanction after opening border for migrants return

The United States president, Donald Trump has lifted sanctions on Colombia, after the country agreed to reopen its borders for the return of deported migrants.

This development came barely 24 hours after Trump threatened to raise tax rates, prompting the Colombian President to contemplate the odds, as the nation relies heavily on access to the US market for about a third of its exports, equivalent to around 4% of its GDP.

President Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions on Colombia to punish it for earlier refusing to accept military flights carrying deportees as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.

However, in a statement yesterday, both nations confirmed that they had reached an agreement, under which the US will withdraw its threats and Colombia will accept back its deported citizens.

Acknowledging the deal between the countries, the White House in a press release said, “The Government of Colombia has 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 U.S. military aircraft, without limitation or delay”

“Draft orders imposing tariffs and sanctions on Colombia would be “held in reserve, and not signed unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement. Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States,” the White House statement added.

Similarly, through its Foreign Minister Luis Murillo, the Colombian government affirmed that a mutually acceptable arrangement has been made, saying we have overcome the impasse with the U.S. government.

“The government of Colombia has the presidential plane ready to facilitate the return of Colombians who were going to arrive in the country this morning on deportation flights,” Murillo added.

Furthermore, the foreign minister explained that an ambassador to the United States would travel to Washington in the coming days to follow up on agreements that would lead to the exchange of diplomatic notes between the two governments.

Trump’s draft measures, now on hold, include imposing 25% tariffs on all Colombian goods coming into the U.S., which would go up to 50% in one week; a travel ban and visa revocations on Colombian government officials; and emergency treasury, banking, and financial sanctions.

He also threatened to direct enhanced border inspections of Colombian nationals and cargo. Ahead of the announcement of an agreement on the flights, a State Department spokesperson said the United States had suspended visa processing at the U.S. embassy in Bogota.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the country is Colombia’s largest trading partner, largely due to a 2006 free trade agreement that generated $33.8 billion in two-way trade in 2023 and a $1.6 billion U.S. trade surplus.

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