The boost that President Donald Trump gave to Colombian exporters to increase sales in March

Colombian exporters have U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to thank for the growth in their sales to the rest of the world in March—they grew 12.2 percent, according to DANE (National Economic Development Agency). However, uncertainty remains about what will happen after March, when some of the threats were implemented and new changes could come.

As with suppliers around the world, US importers rushed to buy products in March as the tariffs announced by Trump took effect, which could mean that after this push, sales to the US could slow down starting in April.

In Colombia's case, more than half of the increase in March exports was explained by shipments to the United States. Total growth was 12.2 percent, but sales to the United States increased by 24.2 percent.

Thus, of that total increase of $471 million, 58 percent was due to the boost provided by exports to that northern country.

The United States remains Colombia's main trading partner, accounting for 32.3 percent of the country's global sales; Panama is second with 11 percent, China with 4.7 percent, and the Netherlands with 4 percent.

Amid tensions over the imposition of a 10 percent tariff on the country, Colombian exports to the United States grew 15 percent annually in the first quarter of 2025, totaling $3.58 billion. These were driven primarily by increased sales of unroasted coffee (decaffeinated or non-decaffeinated) (121.5 percent) and cut flowers and foliage (7.7 percent), which together contributed 11.2 percentage points to the country's growth.

The imposition of new tariffs on more than 180 countries around the world led to a wave of anticipated foreign purchases by American businesses and households, seeking to take advantage of the current rates before the measures announced by the president took effect.

Official data indicate that US purchases from the rest of the world increased by 41.3 percent, led by imports of goods (51 percent) , which significantly detracted from the growth of that economy.

Imports of goods grew to a record level due to increased foreign purchases of pharmaceuticals, equipment, and other capital goods, as well as motors and vehicles.

In March, while U.S. exports grew 0.2 percent to $278.5 billion, imports rose 4.4 percent to $419 billion, a jump from the previous two months, when this indicator remained almost flat.

"The surge in imports will be followed by a crushing decline in the second quarter. Even so, consumer activity and business confidence will be of greater concern, which will affect the labor market. Consumer confidence has fallen to levels not seen during the initial lockdowns of 2020, a period marked by extreme uncertainty about the future," warn analysts at the brokerage firm FxPro.