Colombia is the largest source of fresh-cut flowers into the United States. Valentine's Day is, of ... [+]
President Trump announced on Sunday that he would impose 25% import tariffs on Colombia, the source of the majority of fresh-cut flower imports into the United States.
The move, in response to Colombia’s decision to reject two U.S. military flights carrying 80 migrants who the United States said had entered illegally, comes three weeks before Valentine’s Day.
Colombia President Gustavo Petro said Colombia, which had initially granted permission for the flights to land, would accept them on commercial flights, not military flights.
The “U.S. cannot treat Colombian migrants like criminals,” Petro wrote on Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter. “I disallow the entry of American planes with Colombian migrants to our territory.”
The spat continued on X, as Trump then announced the U.S. tariffs there.
After announcing the first tariffs of his second term, Trump also said the tariffs would increase to 50% in a week, was issuing a travel ban on Colombia government officials and visa sanctions on those associated with the South American country’s government.
Petro indicated Colombia would match Trump’s tariffs tit-for-tat, when Trump, referencing the 50% tariff.
The United States has a trade surplus with Colombia, as it does with many nations in South America, with 52% of the trade a U.S. export, current U.S. government data shows.
Colombia is the third-largest buyer of U.S. corn exports, behind Mexico, which has been threatened with 25% tariffs, and Japan. Colombia accounts for 11% of U.S. corn exports.
Colombia accounted for 0.89% of U.S. trade with the world through November of 2024, the latest U.S. ... [+]
Trump would use International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which the president can use to declare a national economic emergency. It’s not clear what that emergency is since Colombia accounts for less than 1% of U.S. trade, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.
Although the two sides are said to be negotiating, what remains unclear is whether the tariffs could be put in place quickly enough to affect the early shipments of flowers for Valentine’s Day, which is Feb. 14.
MIA is responsible for 80% of the fresh-cut flowers that enter the United States, well ahead of ... [+]
Eighty percent of the fresh-cut flowers that enter the United States, including those from Ecuador and other countries, enter at Miami International Airport, and then fan out across the country.
Question is, of course, would the tariffs be in place in time to affect flower prices, prices that tend to spike during Valentine’s Day and Mothers’ Day as it is.
Those flowers destined for the points farthest from Miami would certainly get the earliest shipments, which can take two to three days by truck and then another day or two to get from warehouses and distribution centers to the florists, grocery stores and other retail outlets. The flower-laden air-cargo “freighters” continue multiple times a day for days at MIA, just to meet the Valentine’s Day demand.
