No. On January 26, 2025, President Donald Trump announced an emergency 25% tariff on Colombian goods and said it would rise to 50% after one week. He made the announcement after Colombia refused to receive two U.S. military aircraft carrying deportees. The same day, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept its returning nationals, and that the fully drafted tariff orders would be held in reserve and not signed. The tariffs were announced, not imposed under that agreement.
Timeline of January 26, 2025
- Refusal and announcement: Colombia refused to receive two U.S. military aircraft carrying deportees. Trump announced a 25% tariff on Colombian imports and said it would be raised to 50% after a week. Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded by announcing a 25% retaliatory tariff increase on U.S. goods.
- Agreement: Later that day, the White House said Colombia had agreed to accept deported Colombian nationals without limitation or delay, including on U.S. military aircraft.
- Measures the White House said would stay in place: visa sanctions and enhanced customs inspections, until the first planeload of deportees returned successfully.
Did Trump impose 25% tariffs on Colombia?
The White House statement, issued by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, states the condition directly: “Based on this agreement, the fully drafted IEEPA tariffs and sanctions will be held in reserve, and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor this agreement.”
IEEPA is the abbreviation for the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the statute the emergency tariff announcement referred to. A tariff of this kind takes legal effect through a signed order. A drafted order that is held in reserve and not signed does not collect duties, so the announced 25% rate did not reach U.S. ports of entry under the terms the White House set out. Readers should treat the headline figure as a threat with a stated condition, not as a tariff in force.
Announced measures and what the White House said about them
| Measure | Announced by | Status stated by the White House | What the sources establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25% tariff on Colombian imports | Donald Trump, January 26, 2025 | Drafted IEEPA tariff held in reserve and not signed, unless Colombia fails to honor the agreement | Not signed under the agreement |
| Increase to 50% after one week | Donald Trump, January 26, 2025 | Not stated separately; the statement refers to the drafted tariffs as a whole | Announced threat only; no separate implementation documented |
| 25% retaliatory increase on U.S. goods | Gustavo Petro, January 26, 2025 | Not stated | Announcement only; whether it took effect is not established |
| Visa sanctions | U.S. government, per the White House statement | Remain until the first deportee flight successfully returns | End date after that flight not stated |
| Enhanced customs inspections | U.S. government, per the White House statement | Remain until the first deportee flight successfully returns | End date after that flight not stated |
The useful distinction is between announced and enacted measures, and between tariffs and non-tariff steps. The tariffs were held in reserve. The visa and inspection measures were described as temporarily in effect.
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Why a tariff threat still matters for household finances
- Threats move expectations before they move prices. Importers and exporters can change orders, contracts, and pricing as soon as a tariff is announced, even if it is never signed.
- Tariffs apply to goods, not countries in general. A tariff on all Colombian imports would reach products such as coffee and cut flowers, which are among the best-known Colombian exports. Whether any given product is affected depends on its customs classification and the legal instrument in force.
- Retaliation adds a second layer. A retaliatory measure can change the cost of U.S. goods sold into Colombia, which matters for exporters and for anyone whose budget depends on those sales.
Trade figures in context
- $17.8 billion: U.S. goods imports from Colombia in 2025, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), 2026.
- $37.2 billion: Total U.S.-Colombia goods trade in 2025, according to the same USTR 2026 reporting.
These are trade totals, not estimates of what the threatened tariff would cost. No tariff-impact estimate is established by the sources behind this article. The U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, which entered into force on May 15, 2012, is a separate, standing trade framework. It is background, not the legal basis for the January 2025 threat.
How to check whether a tariff applies to a specific product
- Separate announcements from signed instruments. A social media post or a remark to reporters is not a tariff order.
- Look for the signed proclamation or executive order and note its effective date. Signed presidential documents are normally published in the Federal Register.
- Check U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance, including its CSMS messages, which describe how duties are applied at entry.
- Confirm the product’s Harmonized Tariff Schedule classification, because duty rates attach to classifications, not to countries alone.
- Read the exemptions and the date rules, which determine whether a shipment is covered.
What remains uncertain
- The White House statement does not say when visa sanctions and enhanced inspections would end after the first deportee flight returned, and this article does not establish that date.
- Whether Colombia’s retaliatory tariff took effect is not established by the sources used here.
- Current duty treatment of any specific product requires item-specific customs review, which this article does not provide.
Trade policy changes quickly. This account reflects the January 26, 2025 record as checked on October 8, 2026, and it should be verified against current official notices before any business or household decision depends on it.
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