Trump to impose tariffs on nations that buy Venezuelan oil

President Trump said Monday he will impose a 25% tariff on the goods of any country that purchases oil or gas from Venezuela, a move that combines his twin focus on trade and immigration.

Mr. Trump, writing on Truth Social, said criminals and violent persons from Venezuela are making their way to the U.S. illegally, and that Venezuela “has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse.”

“Therefore, 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,” Mr. Trump wrote. “All documentation will be signed and registered, and the Tariff will take place on April 2nd, 2025, LIBERATION DAY IN AMERICA.”

Mr. Trump formalized the threat late Monday, issuing an executive order that outlined the new tariff policy and decried the Venezuelan government as a destabilizing force in the Western Hemisphere that is guilty of “endemic economic mismanagement” and public corruption.

Independent trade analysts say the top destinations for Venezuelan crude are China, Turkey, Spain, Colombia, Brazil, and India.

Mr. Trump’s effective date aligns with the deadline he set for his team to assign a tariff number to any nation that imposes levies or other trade barriers on U.S. goods.

“That’s the day when rest of the world starts to treat America will respect,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, referring to April 2.

The administration says it is open to negotiations that could knock down tariff levels once they are assigned.

The U.S. has a thorny relationship with Venezuela, an oil-rich nation, and the Biden administration decided to recognize Edmundo González as the legitimate president instead of Venezuela’s strongman leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Mr. Trump is contending with those leadership issues and targeting members of a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, who’ve migrated to the U.S. illegally.

“We are in the process of returning them to Venezuela — It is a big task!” Mr. Trump wrote Monday.

Tariffs are a tax or duty paid by importers on the goods they bring in from foreign markets. Mr. Trump says tariffs are a great way to force companies to return to America or keep their operations in the U.S., employ American workers and create revenue to fund domestic programs.

Mr. Trump’s latest threat adds to a bevy of tariff-related moves since he took office in January.

He imposed new tariffs of 20% on Chinese goods and a 25% levy on steel and aluminum imports, and he’s threatened 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico but exempted most goods for now.

His threat to impose reciprocal tariffs on a host of nations may force other countries to make concessions, though Wall Street investors and business leaders are leery and fear the levies will result in higher costs and consumer prices.

Mr. Trump said his tough tactics are paying off, pointing to companies that are moving to increase production within the U.S. with American workers. Executives from a major South Korean company, Hyundai, went to the White House on Monday to tout a $20 billion investment, including a $5 billion steel plant to be built in Louisiana.

“This investment is a clear demonstration that tariffs very strongly work,” Mr. Trump said.  “There are no tariffs if you make your product in America.”

Mr. Trump said he’s just getting started on tariffs, boasting of plans to announce tariffs related to cars and medicines soon.

“We don’t make pharmaceuticals anymore in our country,” Mr. Trump said at a Cabinet meeting on Monday. “We need steel, we need pharmaceuticals, we need aluminum, we need a lot of these things we sort of don’t make anymore, and yet we’re equipped to do it all.”

Foreign countries don’t pay tariffs directly to the U.S. Treasury.

In many cases, U.S. companies will pay the levies, though Mr. Trump frequently characterizes the tariffs as payments from foreign entities.

“It’ll bring in billions of dollars. Billions and billions,” Mr. Trump said. “And it will bring in, maybe more importantly, jobs. It will protect the jobs we have.