Colombia asks Trump to pause tariffs after deadly earthquake kills 289

Bogota,UPDATED: Aug 16, 2026 22:58 IST

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has asked US President Donald Trump to temporarily suspend tariffs on Colombian goods as the South American country deals with the aftermath of a powerful earthquake that has killed at least 289 people. De la Espriella said the move would help businesses facing severe difficulties after the disaster.

De la Espriella, who took office earlier this month just days before the 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck, has sought to underline his ties with Trump, who backed him in Colombia's closely contested presidential election decided in a runoff on June 21. The quake hit western Colombia on Monday morning and the president has declared it a natural disaster.

In a post on X on Saturday night, de la Espriella said he had spoken to Trump and thanked him for US aid sent in response to the earthquake. He added that he had "asked him to consider the temporary suspension of the high tariffs that affect Colombian products, in order to provide relief to our businesspeople, who are facing very difficult times due to the effects of the earthquake." There was no immediate response from the Trump administration to the request.

According to the US State Department, the United States has offered a total of USD 26.5 million in earthquake aid, including food, shelters and health supplies. The earthquake devastated parts of western Colombia, including the cities of Pereira, Cali and Quibdo, while areas along the Pacific coast were hit particularly hard.

The government has said 143 people are missing, while other civilian-run databases have put the number in the thousands. The disaster, whose epicentre was in Choco, one of the country's poorest regions, has so far left 3,937 people injured, according to the government. It also destroyed 14,705 homes and damaged another 81,536.

In Cali, Colombia's third biggest city, workers were searching for more than 70 people reported missing there. Officials said hope of finding survivors remained despite the passing of the key 48 to 72-hour window. "Miracles do happen" even though more than 120 hours have passed since the earthquake struck, Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said from the unified command post. "We are working where we know there are still victims; we are working in the hope of rescuing people alive."

As rescue efforts continued in the worst-hit areas, Colombia's government was still counting the human and material cost of the earthquake, while de la Espriella pushed for tariff relief from the United States alongside aid already announced by Washington.

With PTI Inputs

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