BOGOTA - Colombia’s new President Abelardo de la Espriella on Aug 15 called on his US counterpart Donald Trump to suspend tariffs currently targeting the South American nation, which is reeling after a deadly earthquake.

US tariffs on Colombian products rose from 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent in late July, with a few exceptions including coffee and oil.

“I asked him to consider to temporarily suspend the high tariffs that are affecting Colombian products, in order to give some relief to our business owners, who are facing very difficult times due to the effects of the earthquake,” De la Espriella said on X.

The increased tariffs went into effect on July 24, replacing an expiring global duty rolled out by Trump earlier this year.

De la Espriella said he has spoken for about 10 minutes with Trump, who expressed his condolences over the deaths from Aug 10’s 7.4-magnitude quake.

“The conversation was very friendly and cordial,” the Colombian leader said.

“I told him that we have a huge challenge ahead: rebuilding Colombia amid the extremely difficult and apocalyptic economic situation that I inherited.”

The tremor devastated the western Colombian cities of Cali and Pereira, leaving nearly 300 people dead and destroying almost 13,000 homes.

Trump endorsed the right-wing De la Espriella, a millionaire lawyer-turned-politician, during his run for the presidency.

Since taking office, De la Espriella – who succeeded the leftist Gustavo Petro – has joined the so-called “Shield of the Americas,” an anti-cartel alliance headed by Trump and made up of pro-US governments across Latin America, including Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador.

Member states exchange information and coordinate judicial and security forces to address transnational criminal activity.

De la Espriella plans to forge a military alliance with the US and Israel to help bolster his war on guerillas. AFP