Colombia has walked back from the brink of a damaging trade war with the United States, reaching an agreement on accepting deported migrants being returned on military planes, after a flurry of threats from President Donald Trump that included steep tariffs.

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The spat erupted on Sunday (Jan 26) when President Gustavo Petro barred two military planes carrying Colombians deported from the US from landing. 

The Trump administration responded by threatening to slap punitive tariffs on Colombian exports to the US.

Also read | Colombia agreed to 'unrestricted acceptance' of immigrants who entered US illegally: White House

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Colombia reverses course after Trump threatens tariffs

President Petro initially threatened to impose tariffs on US goods in retaliation for the US deporting migrants to Colombia. However, the White House later announced that Colombia had backed down and agreed to accept the migrants, including those arriving on US military planes, without any restrictions or delays.

Colombia said Sunday evening it had agreed to “all of President Trump’s terms,” including the “unrestricted acceptance” of immigrants who entered the US illegally after two US military planes carrying deportees were blocked from entering the country.

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“We will continue to receive Colombians and Colombian women who return as deportees, guaranteeing them decent conditions as citizens subject to rights,” Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo said in a televised statement. He added that US deportation flights had resumed, and the Colombian presidential plane was being prepared to assist in repatriating citizens.

Also read | Trump, Petro lock horns in tariff war: US and Colombia impose 25% tariff on each other’s goods

White House lauded agreement with Colombia

The White House hailed the agreement with Colombia as a victory for Trump's hard-line approach after the countries' two leaders exchanged threats on Sunday on social media.

“Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again. President Trump will continue to protect our nation’s sovereignty fiercely, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States,” the White House said in a statement.

The announcement ended a tumultuous weekend that threatened to raise coffee prices for American consumers and impact hundreds of thousands of Colombian workers. It’s also the first time Trump took major action against another country over his immigration policy since he took office last week.

(With inputs from agencies)