Government Affairs Insights on Floral

October 23, 2025

Threat of Additional Tariffs on Colombian Imports at Bay for Now

Beginning of last week, it was reported that President Trump was considering increasing tariff rates on imported Colombian goods due to increased tensions with Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over the issue of drug trafficking. This comes after the Colombian leader criticized the U.S. for a strike on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, in which Trump responded back in a statement on Truth Social that the U.S. would cease any aid being sent to Colombia out of retaliation. On October 21, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) confirmed in an interview that after a conversation with President there will be no additional tariffs placed on Colombia for now, despite the escalating back and forth between country leaders. In the interview, he also emphasized the importance of the relationships with people of U.S. and Colombia and that, “the problem isn’t with the country, but with its president.” At this point in time, the 10% reciprocal tariff that was placed on Colombian goods earlier this year will remain as is.

Federal Shutdown Continues as Lawmakers Struggle to Pass Stopgap to Reopen the Government

This week, marks the fourth week since the federal government officially lapsed into a shutdown on October 1 with still no indicator as to how long it will last. Both Republicans and Democrats appear to be confident in their respective messaging on the shutdown narrative with neither party willing to blink. At the time of this writing, the Senate has since tried to advance the House GOP-passed continuing resolution (CR), that would extend government funding until November 21, twelve different times now and continues to fail in garnering 60-votes to pass the measure. In addition to the CR, on October 23, the Senate considered S.3012 – the Shutdown Fairness Act led by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), that would have ensured paychecks for essential federal workers during the midst of the ongoing shutdown, but ultimately failed on the floor by 54-45 vote. Whilst the Senate has been in session for nearly the whole month of October, the House of Representatives has been out for over a month now. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has publicly suggested the House consider coming back to pass a new stopgap measure that would extend government funding beyond the initial November 21 date and allow for more constructive negotiations to take place going forward. Discrepancies over Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies continue to persist and will likely come to a head November 1 with the start of open enrollment for the ACA marketplace. In addition to another pay period approaching for federal workers at the end of the month, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will also lapse November 1 and will likely force lawmakers or the Administration to the negotiating table. All in all, it is still uncertain how long it will take Congress to reach a timely compromise to reopen and fund the federal government.

While shutdowns traditionally result in most federal governments’ non-essential services being forcibly paused until a funding bill or CR can be passed, there are still services deemed essential and accepted by the Administration that will continue. Within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) these services include fee-based programs like voluntary food safety inspections, mandatory funded marketing loans and insurance programs, nutrition programs while funding lasts, Title 1 payments etc. You can find the hyperlinks for USDA’s official shutdown continency plan as well as for other federal departments and services below:

Economic Assistance for Producers Held Up Until Shutdown Ceases

On Thursday, October 9, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins alluded that the Trump Administration will not be able to move forward with emergency economic assistance for producers until the government shutdown comes to an end. It was reported on September 28 that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved a $12.259 billion transfer from USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) account to the Office of the Secretary to fund the anticipated ad hoc but USDA has yet to announce any specific details regarding exact size or scope of the package. There currently is no read on how long the shutdown will persist, so there is no telling how long it will take for the Trump Administration to formally announce a path forward for producer economic assistance.

Government Affairs Insights on Floral

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