Colombia’s president has signed a decree banning the exports of coal to Israel in a bid to push Tel Aviv to end the war in Gaza.
According to a Bloomberg report, the decree was signed last week.
Colombia is the biggest supplier of coal to Israel. It is also the sixth-largest seaborne coal exporter in the world and the second-largest in South America. Last year, Colombia exported 56.4 million tons of the commodity.
The ban on coal exports to Israel was first announced in June, with President Gustavo Petro saying on X “We are going to suspend coal exports to Israel until the genocide stops,” per the Financial Times. The country’s trade ministry said the ban will enter into effect five days after the publication of the decree in the state gazette but it would not affect already contracted coal volumes.
In the first eight months of 2023, Colombian coal exports to Israel totaled $320 million, the FT also reported in June, adding that per official data government income from these exports stood at $165 million.
In May this year, however, Colombia broke its diplomatic relations with Israel amid the war with Hamas. The ban on exports of coal followed this move, echoing a similar move by Turkey, which in May stopped all trade with Israel demanding “an uninterrupted and sufficient flow” of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Back in June when the ban was announced, Colombia’s mining industry association warned that the ban would hurt the country’s economy and discourage foreign investment.
“This decision would not comply with international commitments by Colombia that should be respected and puts at risk the confidence of markets and foreign investment,” the association, ACM, said in a statement.
Hydrocarbons make up more than half of Colombia’s export income but President Petro has pledged a reversal of policies to turn the country into an energy transition champion.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
