Colombia earthquake and trade disruption

A severe earthquake on August 10 impacted several Colombian regions, including Valle del Cauca, Chocó, and Cauca, causing housing emergencies and significant transport restrictions. The National Association of Foreign Trade (Analdex) called for operational flexibility in logistics and trade sectors, noting that road closures and preventive port suspensions made it impossible to maintain standard deadlines. Analdex also deployed heavy machinery to assist in search and rescue operations.

By August 12, coffee export operations began to resume. The Federación Nacional de Cafeteros (FNC) confirmed that the Port of Buenaventura, which manages approximately 60% of the country’s coffee exports, returned to normal operations following three days of preventive infrastructure inspections. While the Buga-Buenaventura road remains under restricted access, shipments are continuing through both Pacific and Caribbean terminals, such as Cartagena and Santa Marta.

On August 20, diplomatic efforts to mitigate economic fallout intensified. The earthquake, measured at a 7.4 magnitude, resulted in approximately 300 deaths and nearly $9.6 billion in economic losses. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Colombian Commerce Minister Mauricio Gómez Amín to discuss strengthening economic ties and expediting a Reciprocal Trade Agreement. In response to the disaster, President Abelardo de la Espriella has requested that the United States temporarily suspend the 12.5% tariffs currently imposed on Colombian products to provide relief to affected businesses. Following a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Colombian president expressed gratitude for the humanitarian assistance, economic aid, and rescue teams provided by Washington. Additionally, Brazil has provided humanitarian aid, sending 19 tons of rice via a Brazilian Air Force KC-390 cargo plane to assist with the emergency response.