Trump Says Tariffs for Venezuela Oil Purchasers Will Hit China, On Top of IEEPA and 301 Tariffs
When President Donald Trump was asked by a reporter at the White House if his threat to put 25% tariffs on countries that import oil from Venezuela would apply to China, the top importer, he said it would.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
The CNBC reporter then asked if those tariffs would layer on top of other tariffs on Chinese goods, and the president said yes.
Earlier that morning, Trump posted on social media that countries that buy oil or gas from Venezuela "will be forced to pay a Tariff of 25% to the United States on any Trade they do with our Country. All documentation will be signed and registered, and the Tariff will take place on April 2nd, 2025, LIBERATION DAY IN AMERICA. Please let this notification serve to represent that the Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol, and all other Law Enforcement Agencies within our Country have been so notified."
In the last few years, the U.S. has been the second-largest buyer of Venezuelan oil, according to Reuters, after China, but European countries, India, Colombia, Brazil, Panama and Cuba have also received shipments, the wire service wrote.
It's not clear whether this will start to apply only once future purchases are made, or whether there will be tariffs punishing purchases in the last few months.
Trump called this "a Secondary Tariff" and said it was being imposed "for numerous reasons, including the fact that Venezuela has purposefully and deceitfully sent to the United States, undercover, tens of thousands of high level, and other, criminals, many of whom are murderers and people of a very violent nature."
"In addition, Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse."