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Colombia quake toll nears 300; Petro seeks US tariff relief
Colombia's 2028 bond yield rose 12 bps as the quake toll neared 300 and Petro pressed Washington for tariff relief on top of a coffee harvest at risk.
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The death toll from Colombia's earthquake neared 300 on Tuesday as rescue teams shifted from search to recovery. President Gustavo Petro said the country would ask Washington for tariff relief under the Andean Trade Preference Act, arguing that disaster costs would strain an economy already running a current-account deficit near 4% of GDP.
The 7.2-magnitude quake struck the coffee-growing region of Caldas on Monday, flattening hillside villages and cutting roads to at least a dozen municipalities. Coffee exports, which account for roughly 8% of Colombia's foreign-exchange earnings, face weeks of disruption. The National Coffee Federation said 15% of the current harvest was at risk.
Petro's tariff request adds a trade dimension to the crisis. Colombia already benefits from duty-free access for most exports under the trade preference program. The administration wants expanded quotas for sugar and textiles, two sectors where the U.S. maintains limits. Economists at Bancolombia said the disaster could shave 0.3 percentage points off second-quarter GDP. Tariff relief would soften that blow for the peso, which has already weakened 6% this year.