U.S. tariffs on China, India and other countries could be substantially higher than the rates President Donald Trump announced last week thanks to a “secondary tariff” targeting nations that buy oil or natural gas from Venezuela.
The 25 percent tariff shows that Trump is ratcheting up his longstanding policy of applying pressure to Venezuela and its oil and gas assets in efforts to help force change in the South American country.
Other actions Trump has taken this year — including requiring Chevron to withdraw from the country by May 27 — could bring the country’s oil and gas industry to its knees and keep Venezuela from paying millions of dollars it owes to other countries. That has added to the uncertainty both in the global oil market and in Venezuela.
“This year looking forward, if things stay where they stand now, it’s going to be a very tough year for Venezuela economically,” said Pietro Pitts, an energy analyst and editor at the Energy Analytics Institute.
