Donald Trump hit Colombia with 25 per cent tariffs on Sunday after the country refused US flights deporting migrants.
The US president angrily retaliated after the country’s leader, Gustavo Petro, refused US aircraft deporting migrants permission to land in protest over how the migrants on board were being treated.
Announcing an extraordinary raft of punitive measures against the Latin American country, Trump claimed the move had “jeopardised” the security of the United States.
Among the measures are emergency 25 per cent tariffs on goods, which he threatened to raise to 50 per cent within a week, “immediate visa revocations” on Colombian government officials and “all allies”, and enhanced customs inspections for Colombian nationals.
“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network.
“We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States!”
Earlier on Sunday, Mr Petro said that his government would not accept flights carrying migrants deported from the US until the Trump administration creates a protocol that treats them with "dignity".
He made the announcement in two X posts, one of which included a news video of migrants reportedly deported to Brazil walking on a tarmac with restraints on their hands and feet.
"A migrant is not a criminal and must be treated with the dignity that a human being deserves," he said.
"That is why I returned the US military planes that were carrying Colombian migrants.”
Mr Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, added that his country would receive Colombians in "civilian airplanes" and "without treatment like criminals".
The tariffs announced by Trump are likely to be a blow for the Colombian economy, as the country sends almost a third of its exports to the US.
However, the move could also see an increase in the price of coffee for Americans, which Colombia is known for, as importers pay the tariffs and then pass the increased prices on to consumers.
