Policy Backgrounders

Key Insights

• On Sunday, January 26, the President threatened tariffs after Colombia declined to accept two US military flights carrying returning deported migrants. Colombia threatened retaliatory tariffs but quickly reached an agreement with the US regarding deportation of Colombian nationals, and the tariffs were not imposed.
• Beyond tariffs, however, the State Department temporarily suspended visa issuance in Bogotá and the President threatened additional economic sanctions on Colombia—very strong action against a country with which the US has generally enjoyed strong relations and a major oil supplier to the US.
• Colombia’s ties with China have grown in recent years, and the incident risks pushing Colombia closer to China and to the BRICS grouping.
• The President is still threatening to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico on February 1.