President Donald Trump has threatened to unilaterally impose a 25 percent tax that Americans would have to pay on any imports from foreign countries that permit their domestic industries to make use of Venezuelan oil or gasoline starting next month in addition to any other new import taxes he will be imposing as part of a push to reverse decades of global supply chain integration and free trade efforts.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that “tens of thousands” of Venezuelan refugees who have fled that country’s authoritarian regime in recent years were actually “high level … criminals, many of whom are murderers and people of a very violent nature” who were “purposefully and deceitfully” sent “undercover” to the United States by that same government.
He also claimed that the presence of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan street gang, in the United States, was entirely due to deliberate efforts by the Nicolas Maduro dictatorship, contradicting language he used in a proclamation purporting to give him the power to summarily remove alleged members of that gang without due process under the terms of a 1798 law, the Alien Enemies Act, while also noting that the Maduro government has been “been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse.”
As a result, Trump said “any country that purchases Oil and/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” starting on April 2, when a slew of previously announced import taxes are set to go into effect.
The president’s statement incorrectly suggests that foreign governments will pay any tariffs imposed under the announced policy even though tariffs are import taxes, the cost of which are borne entirely by importers and often passed along to American consumers in the form of higher prices.
And while it states that imports from “any country” that “purchases” Venezuelan petroleum products will be subject to the extra 25 “secondary tariff,” it’s unclear whetherTrump was referring to purchases made directly by a foreign government or threatening countries that permit companies to purchase and import Venezuelan petroleum products for domestic use — or countries that permit the importation of products made with Venezuelan petroleum.
The White House did not immediately respond to a query from The Independent requesting clarification on whether Trump was demanding that other countries prohibit private entities from purchasing Venezuelan oil or threatening tariffs on imports from countries where governments directly purchase Venezuelan petroleum products.