Colombia asks US to pause tariffs in deadly quake’s aftermath

The Colombian President wrote on X that he made the request “to give some relief to our business owners, who are facing very difficult times due to the effects of the earthquake.”

Rescue workers remove rubble from the Cantabria building following the earthquake in Cali, Colombia, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. Colombia turned down a Mexican rescue team that sought to assist with earthquake rescue efforts, raising questions about the government’s management of the disaster as the death toll mounted and an aftershock prompted fresh evacuations. | Bloomberg

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella asked US President Donald Trump to temporarily suspend tariffs on Colombian goods as the country grapples with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that killed nearly 300 people.

De la Espriella wrote in a post on X that he made the request “in order to give some relief to our business owners, who are facing very difficult times due to the effects of the earthquake.”

The Colombian leader said he spoke with Trump for 10 minutes. The US president expressed condolences for the earthquake victims and solidarity with affected Colombian families, according to the post.

The White House didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

US tariffs on many Colombian products rose to 12.5% from 10% in late July, though some products are exempt from the levy.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Aug. 10 was the second-strongest recorded in Colombian territory in the past century. The death toll had risen to 294 as of 6:30 am local time Saturday, with more than 3,900 people injured, according to Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management.

The earthquake caused widespread damage across western Colombia, hitting remote and isolated communities particularly hard.

Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.