Agriculture Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor said today she has been discussing Colombia’s moves toward countervailing tariffs on U.S. milk powder imports and feed corn imports during a trade mission to Colombia this week.

During a call to reporters, Taylor told The Hagstrom Report that she told Colombian officials it is “unfortunate” the Colombian government decided to initiate a Subsidies and Countervailing Measures investigation into U.S. exports of milk powder, which could result in increased tariffs. Taylor said she believes the data that the U.S. government is compiling will show that the case “has no merit.”

Taylor also said she hopes the Colombian government will “conduct a transparent investigation and use the relevant data we are preparing.”

Taylor also said she and Colombian officials “had a detailed and robust conversation about the importance of Colombian imports of U.S. corn.”

There have been rumors in the Colombian agribusiness community that the government wants to restrict imports of U.S. corn in order to help small Colombian farmers, but the government has not yet taken action.

Taylor said she hopes Colombia “does not go down the route” of an investigation. She said she pointed out that 90% of Colombian corn production is used for human food and that more than 90% of the imports from the United States are used to feed animals.

In the call, Taylor said that more than 20 U.S. companies and organizations have participated in more than 100 meetings and that there are 35 Colombian companies and 17 Venezuelan companies participating in the meetings.

Colombia is a growing market for U.S. agricultural products because its middle class is growing, and more and more people are shopping in grocery stores.

Colombian consumers’ interest in “healthy products offers opportunities,” she said.

Taylor also noted that Colombia was one of the first countries to sign on to the successful U.S petition to the United Nations to declare 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer.

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