Donald Trump may wreck Valentine’s Day.
As of tomorrow, he’s imposing a 25% tariff on all imported goods from Colombia. They include cut flowers, crude oil, and coffee.
If Colombia continues to reject deportation planes full of their people coming from the US, Trump says he’ll raise the tariff to 50%.
He thinks he’s hurting Colombia, but they will pass the tariff on to US customers immediately.
According to Google AI, in 2021, of the $13.2 billion in U.S. imports from Colombia, the top commodity sectors were Oils and Minerals, Lime, and Cement (41.3%), Agricultural Goods (26.2%), and Stone, Glass, Metals, and Pearls (14.4%). Flowers amounted to $3.3 billion.
Columbia is one of the top producers of premium roses, the ones we see in bodegas and in florist shops and bought via 1-800-Florists, etc. according to flowerpowerdaily.com. All the other desired Valentine’s flowers are affected as well.
A 50% tariff on crude oil means gas prices will soar. Coffee? Starbucks main coffee source is Colombia and Latin America.
Trump — who doesn’t drink coffee or send flowers (he has no one to send them to) — wrote on social media: “I have directed my Administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures:..Emergency 25% tariffs on all goods coming into the United States. In one week, the 25% tariffs will be raised to 50%.”
In the week since Trump took the oath of office, prices have only gone up on everything including eggs. His campaign promise was to immediately bring prices down. Remember?
All of this is in addition to the mass deportation raids, the cancellation of all DEI Programs, including revoking 60 year old Civil Rights laws and much more.
Latinos who voted for Trump, and Blacks as well, should find all this illuminating. Trump told them this is what he would do. They refused to listen.