India in December 2023 and January 2024 was one of the top buyers of Venezuelan crude oil and New Delhi in the first month itself imported approximately 191,600 barrels per day, which rose to over 254,000 in the following month.
US President Donald Trump, in a big announcement, said that the US would impose 25 per cent tariffs on a nation that purchases oil or gas from Venezuela, adding that the tariff would take place on April 2. He also accused Venezuela of being hostile to the US.
“President Donald J. Trump announced that the United States of America will be putting what is known as a Secondary Tariff on the Country of Venezuela, 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. Among the gangs they sent to the United States, is Tren de Aragua, which has been given the designation of ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization’,” Trump said in a post on media platform Truth Social.
He stated that any country that purchases oil or gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a tariff of 25 per cent to the United States on any trade they do with the country.
The latest 25 per cent tariff targets direct and indirect buyers of Venezuelan oil and can take effect as soon as April 2, according to an order signed on Monday by Trump.
As per Trump’s order, the 25 per cent tariff expires a year after the last date that a country has imported Venezuelan oil – or sooner if Washington decides so.
The announcement from Donald Trump comes after the deportation pipeline between the United States and Venezuela was suspended last month, as he claimed Caracas had not lived up to a deal to quickly receive deported migrants. Then Venezuela said it would no longer accept the flights.
How will it impact India?
The 25 per cent tariff threat could hit China and India, as experts believe that Venezuela exports oil to both those countries and to the United States and Spain.
India in December 2023 and January 2024 was one of the top buyers of Venezuelan crude oil, and New Delhi in the first month itself imported approximately 1,91,600 barrels per day, which rose to over 2,54,000 in the following month.
India in January 2024 was importing nearly half of Venezuela’s total oil exports (almost 557,000 bpd for the month). India, in the whole year of 2024, imported 22 million barrels of oil from Venezuela, which made up 1.5 per cent of the country’s total crude oil purchases.
Last year in February, Venezuela exported some 5,00,000 barrels of oil per day to China, and this figure was 240,000 barrels for the United States.
Check Donald Trump’s tariff plans
After assuming office in the White House in January, Trump has imposed tariffs on US allies and foes alike in an attempt to strengthen both economic and diplomatic policy. Moreover, Trump said that the 25 per cent tariff would be on top of existing rates. Earlier, he had hinted at sector-specific duties coming around the same day – but the White House said on Monday it might take a narrower approach.
