Venezuela has been "very hostile" to the US, President Donald Trump said on Monday, and countries purchasing oil from it will be forced to pay the tariff on all their trade to the US starting 2 April.
The tariffs would most likely add to the taxes facing China, which in 2023 bought 68% of the oil exported by Venezuela, according to a 2024 analysis by the US Energy Information Administration.
Spain, India, Russia, Singapore and Vietnam are also among the countries receiving oil from Venezuela, the report shows.
But even the United States — despite its sanctions against Venezuela — buys oil from that country. In January, the United States imported 8.6 million barrels of oil from Venezuela, according to the Census Bureau, out of roughly 202 million barrels imported that month.
And on Monday, the Treasury Department issued an extension for US-based Chevron Corp.'s lease to pump and export Venezuelan oil until May 27. The extension, known as a general license, exempts the country from economic sanctions and allows it to continue to pump oil.
In February, Trump announced an end to the Chevron-Venezuela relationship, in what became a financial lifeline for the South American country.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro responded by accusing the US of violating international trade rules with an "arbitrary, illegal and desperate measure" designed to "undermine the development" of the South American nation.
"For years, the fascist right, repudiated by the Venezuelan people, has promoted economic sanctions with the hope of bringing Venezuela to its knees," the government said in a statement.
"They failed because Venezuela is a sovereign country, because its people have resisted with dignity, and because the world no longer submits to any form of economic dictatorship."
The US president is arguing that tariffs will bring back manufacturing jobs rather than worsen inflationary pressures and hinder growth, as economists have warned. His latest anecdotal evidence came Monday as Hyundai announced at the White House that it would build a $5.8bn (€5.4bn) steel plant in Louisiana.
"This investment is a clear demonstration that tariffs very strongly work," said Trump, adding that the new plant by the South Korean automaker would create 1,400 jobs.
Hyundai Motor Group's executive chairman, Euisun Chung, told the president: "We are really proud to stand with you and proud to build the future together."
Maduro had been sworn in for a third term as Venezuelan president in 2024 – but the country's opposition and the European Union denounced his inauguration as illegitimate amid allegations of fraudulent vote counting.
The administration of the previous US President Joe Biden also denounced the “sham” election at the time and imposed new sanctions against Caracas, notably increasing the reward to $25 million (€23.9m) for any information leading to bringing the Venezuelan leader to justice.
Millions of Venezuelans have been driven from the country during Maduro's decade-long rule after facing political unrest, economic decline and acute shortages of vital resources such as food, medicine and electricity.
A bolder move against China?
Trump's latest tariffs threat suggests the administration may be willing to take bolder moves against China in its efforts to rewrite the guidelines of the global economy.
The Trump administration has already levied universal 20% tariffs on imports from China as an effort to crack down on the illicit trade in fentanyl, but another 25% import tax on top of that could further escalate tensions between the world's two largest economies.
Trump said Venezuela will face a "secondary" tariff because it is the home to the gang Tren de Aragua. The Trump administration is deporting immigrants that it claims are members of that gang who illegally crossed into the United States.
Trump has labelled 2 April as "Liberation Day" based on his still unclear plans to roll out import taxes to match the rates charged by other countries, as well as fully levy 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada, the two largest US trading partners.
The US president has also increased his 2018 tariffs on steel and aluminium to 25% for all imports and has committed to additional tariffs on autos, pharmaceutical drugs, lumber, computer chips and copper.
The US stock market had been climbing on Monday as investors expect the tariffs to be more targeted than they earlier feared. Still, the S&P 500 index is down so far this year out of concerns that a trade war could hinder economic growth and increase inflationary pressures.
But Trump has been somewhat closely guarded about his plans for tariffs, saying Monday that even though he wants to charge "reciprocal" rates that "we might be even nicer than that."
