President Gustavo Petro announced that they will suspend the export and sale of coal to the state of Israel as a result of their actions in the Gaza Strip. “We are going to suspend coal exports to Israel until it stops the genocide,” the president said through X.
The president’s measure aroused different reactions; from the sectors that question Israel’s war actions against the people of Gaza defended the decision; However, the mining union questioned the decision.
“The Colombian Mining Association informs that this decision would be breaching international commitments acquired by Colombia that must be respected and confidence in the markets and foreign investment is put at risk,” the statement begins.
For the association, these types of measures must weigh the economic and social implications for the country and the regions. “Israel is a key destination for Colombian thermal coal exports, it represents in taxes, royalties and contributions 650 billion pesos each year, of which more than 100 billion go directly to the regions of La Guajira and El Cesar“, they point out in the statement.
Reports from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce indicate that the main destinations of Cesar coal were Turkey (16.5%), Chile (12.2%) and Israel (9.8%). Therefore, this decision represents a direct blow to the department.
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TRADE AGREEMENT
Colombia and the State of Israel signed a Free Trade Agreement in 2014reviewed by the Constitutional Court, which has been in force since 2020.
“This provides that prohibitions or restrictions on the import or export of goods from another country cannot be adopted or maintained. Exceptionally, temporary restrictions are allowed only on essential goods, under critical and specific circumstances that must be sufficiently proven, for example an acute food shortage.. If not, the agreed commitments would be breached, and the Agreement would have to be denounced,” the association said in the statement.
PRESIDENT DRUMMOND
98.4% of the exports of the department of Cesar are mining-energy products, that is, coal. And almost all of that material is extracted and sold by the company. Drummond. For this reason, José Miguel Linares, president of Drummond in Colombiapublished on its social networks that the decision to suspend exports to Israel would affect the country’s finances.
“Suspending exports to Israel would generate a serious fiscal impact for Colombia, which would stop receiving $650,000 million annually in taxes, royalties and contributions. The producing areas, like Cesar, will feel it, which need these resources for social investment,” Linares published.
