Trump Proposes 25 Percent Tariff on Countries That Buy Venezuelan Oil

The tariff would especially affect China and India, Venezuela’s top oil customers.

An oil tanker remains at the Maracaibo Lake in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on March 15, 2019. Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump on March 24 said he would impose a 25 percent tariff on any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela.

“Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social, accusing the South American socialist country of “purposefully and deceitfully” sending violent gang members to the United States.

“Therefore, any Country that purchases Oil and/or Gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a Tariff of 25 percent to the United States on any Trade they do with our Country,” he said. “All documentation will be signed and registered, and the Tariff will take place on April 2nd, 2025, LIBERATION DAY IN AMERICA.”

If implemented, the tariff would especially affect China and India, Venezuela’s top oil customers. Chinese private refiners, in particular, have remained among the most resilient buyers of Venezuelan crude, taking advantage of discounted barrels subject to global sanctions.

Venezuela has also been a major supplier of oil to the United States. Exports of Venezuelan crude reached a new high before the Trump administration pushed to end joint ventures between Venezuela’s state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA and U.S. oil giant Chevron.

In February, Trump said he was revoking a license that gave Chevron permission to pump and export Venezuelan oil. He argued that socialist leader Nicolás Maduro’s government had failed to meet the “electoral conditions” set in the July 2024 presidential election and had not acted fast enough to take back “violent criminals” set for deportation.

The Biden administration eased sanctions on Venezuela in 2022, granting Chevron permission to resume operations in exchange for Maduro’s pledge to work with opposition parties on democratic reforms. After Maduro claimed reelection in a widely disputed vote, Trump considered that agreement as having been broken.

“I am therefore ordering that the ineffective and unmet Biden ‘Concession Agreement’ be terminated as of the March 1st option to renew,” Trump said.

Trump’s latest attempt to restrict Venezuelan oil, the lifeblood of Maduro’s government, coincides with his effort to expedite the deportation of members of the Tren de Aragua gang, a criminal network born out of a Venezuelan prison. His administration has carried out a series of deportations under a 1798 law that allows the president to expel foreigners during a threatened or ongoing “invasion or predatory incursion.”

More than 200 Venezuelans were deported in that operation, which remains under scrutiny by a federal judge who questioned the premise of the administration’s use of the Founding-era law—that the United States is being invaded by Venezuelan gang members—and ruled that the deportees must be allowed to challenge their removals in court.

What to Expect on April 2

Trump’s mention of April 2 is a reference to when his administration is expected to announce new reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners with the goal of leveling trade imbalances and protecting domestic industry.

According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, each individual country will receive a reciprocal tariff that levels the playing field with that country. The final amount depends on a broad range of factors.

“On April 2, we’re going to produce a list of other countries’ tariffs,” he said on March 18 in an interview with Fox Business Network. “We are going to go to them and say, ‘Look, here’s where we think the tariff levels are, non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, unfair funding, labor suppression, and if you will stop this, we will not put up the tariff wall.’”

The secretary expressed optimism that many of the new tariffs may not actually go into effect, as some countries are already moving to adjust their trade policies ahead of April 2.

“Going into April 2, some of our worst trading partners in terms of the way they treat us have already come to President Trump offering ... substantial decreases in very unfair tariffs,” he said.