U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose an additional 25% tariff on countries that purchase crude oil or natural gas from Venezuela. He warned that this decision will take effect from April 2. Trump made these remarks in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Monday (March 24).
Since taking office for his second term in January, Trump has been vocal against Venezuela. He accused Venezuela of deliberately sending criminals to the United States to disrupt peace. Following this allegation, he has now threatened to impose tariffs on countries importing oil and gas from Venezuela.
Venezuela has already been under U.S. sanctions, requiring countries to obtain American approval before conducting business with it. Despite these strict measures, Trump has now announced additional tariffs on Venezuela’s trading partners.
According to CNN, any country maintaining trade relations with Venezuela will have to pay an additional 25% tariff when conducting any trade with the U.S.
India and China are the largest importers of Venezuelan crude oil, meaning Trump’s decision will impact these two countries the most. Between December 2023 and January 2024, India imported the highest amount of oil from Venezuela.
Indian media reports indicate that in December 2023, India imported an average of 191,600 barrels of oil per day from Venezuela. In January 2024, half of Venezuela’s total oil exports went to India. Additionally, the Modi government imported 22 million barrels of oil from Venezuela last year.