Trump: Countries buying Venezuelan oil will face 25% tariff.
According to the Financial Times, US President Donald Trump announced that any trade with countries that buy Venezuelan oil and gas will be subject to a 25% tariff.
In justifying the tariff, Trump described it as a response to the transfer of members of the “Tren de Aragua” criminal gang to the United States. The Trump administration put the gang on the list of terrorist organizations in February. According to him, the gang entered the United States with the help of the Venezuelan government.
The US President wrote on his social network called Truth Social”: “Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the freedoms that we support. Therefore, any country that buys Venezuelan oil or gas will be forced to pay a 25% tariff to the United States on any trade with our country.
The tariffs will begin on April 2, and the affected countries have little time to adapt. It is one of several tariffs Trump has imposed or threatened since returning to the White House. Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods. Canadian steel and aluminum are also subject to an additional 25 percent tariff. He has also imposed a similar 25 percent tariff on imports from China and threatened to impose a 200 percent tariff on alcoholic beverages imported from the bloc in response to the European Union’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods.
Venezuela is a major oil exporter and the government is heavily dependent on oil revenues. China is Venezuela’s second-largest oil market after the United States, while Washington has imposed broad sanctions on the Latin American country.