Trump Proposes 25 Percent Tariff on Countries That Buy Venezuelan Oil

The tariff would especially affect China and India, Venezuela’s top oil customers.

An oil tanker remains at the Maracaibo Lake in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on March 15, 2019. Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images

President Donald Trump on March 24 said he would impose a 25 percent tariff on any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela.

“Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social, accusing the South American socialist country of “purposefully and deceitfully” sending violent gang members to the United States.