Colombia leader asks Trump to suspend tariffs after deadly quake

Colombia’s new President Abelardo de la Espriella on Saturday called on his US counterpart Donald Trump to suspend tariffs currently targeting the South American nation, which is reeling after a deadly earthquake.

US tariffs on Colombian products rose from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent in late July, with a few exceptions including coffee and oil.

“I asked him to consider to temporarily suspend the high tariffs that are affecting Colombian products, in order to give some relief to our business owners, who are facing very difficult times due to the effects of the earthquake,” De la Espriella said on social media.

The increased tariffs went into effect on July 24, replacing an expiring global duty rolled out by Trump earlier this year.

De la Espriella said he has spoken for about 10 minutes with Trump, who expressed his condolences over the deaths from Monday’s 7.4-magnitude quake.

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“The conversation was very friendly and cordial,” the Colombian leader said.