Yesterday, Monday, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order that any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela will pay 25% customs duties on any commercial transactions with the United States.
His administration also postponed the deadline for the American oil -producing company to finish operations in Venezuela.
Trump’s new policy reduces some of the pressure on Chevron to exit quickly from Venezuela, after the Treasury took it on the fourth of March 30 days to gradually end its operations.
Trump issued an order to end operations at the beginning after Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro accused the lack of progress in electoral reforms and the return of migrants.
The Treasury said – yesterday, Monday, that it will wait 7 other weeks until May 27, before completing the license that the United States granted to Chevron since 2022 to work in Venezuela, which is subject to sanctions, and export its oil to the United States.
Chevron’s deadline has been postponed hours after Trump announced the new customs duties, saying that Venezuela sent “tens of thousands” of people who are “very violent” to the United States.
Trump pressure
The two steps are temporarily focused on Trump’s pressure on other countries that buy Venezuelan crude oil, such as China, but it is not clear how his management will impose customs duties.
Analysts and sources say that the extension of Chevron’s exit would guarantee payment of payments to the company in exchange for Muslim oil shipments to American customers, while avoiding the sharp decline in the quantities of crude oil exported from Venezuela in the coming weeks, especially to the United States.
The Venezuelan government said it strongly rejects what it described as the “new aggression” announced by Trump.
She added in a press statement: “This arbitrary and illegal procedure is far from weakening our resolve, and the catastrophic failure of all the sanctions imposed on our country confirms.”
According to the executive order, the 25% customs duties are valid on the Venezuelan oil buyer on April 2, and it will be combined with any valid customs duties, and stipulates that working with these fees ends after one year from the last time the state imported Venezuelan oil.
It is reported that the fees will be applied to the countries that buy Venezuelan crude through third parties.
Oil represents the main exports of Venezuela, China, already targeted by American customs duties, is the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil.
Last February, China received, directly and indirectly, about 503 thousand barrels per day of crude oil and Venezuelan fuel, or about 55% of the total exports of the member country of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
India, Spain, Italy and Cuba are among the Venezuelan oil consumers.
Cars, aluminum and medicines
In the context of the US tariffs, Trump said that he will soon announce customs duties on cars, aluminum and medicines.
He added to the White House journalists that the United States will need all these products if they face problems such as wars.
He explained that these measures aim to protect US national security by ensuring the availability of these vital products if crises such as wars erupted.
