Venezuela blocks Colombian imports

The finance ministry is also putting together a report on Colombian companies with operations in Venezuela that may be nationalized, he said today in comments broadcast by state television. President Hugo Chavez ordered troops to the Colombian border this week and expelled the country’s ambassador in Caracas after Colombia’s military bombed a camp of Colombian guerrillas hiding in Ecuador.”There’s no price we’d have to pay that is so high as the price for the defense and dignity of the country,” Isea said.Severing trade ties will likely have a bigger economic impact on Colombia, as the country has a trade surplus with Venezuela, Isea said. Venezuela is Colombia’s second-biggest trading partner behind the U.S.More than 80 percent of the products bought last year from Colombia were finished goods ready for consumption, which didn’t create any growth or employment in Venezuela, the minister said. The government estimates the trade block will take less than a half a percentage point off Venezuela’s growth rate, he said.