WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced on Monday steep tariffs on imports from countries buying oil and gas from Venezuela, a punitive measure that could hit China and India, among others, and sow fresh global trade uncertainty.

Since returning to the White House in January Trump has unleashed tariffs on US allies and foes alike, attempting to strong-arm both economic and diplomatic policy via the mechanism.

“The latest across-the-board 25 per cent levies targeting buyers of Venezuelan oil will come into effect April 2”, Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

These could hit China and India in particular. Trump has dubbed the date “Liberation Day” for the world’s biggest economy, already promising reciprocal tariffs tailored to each trading partner in an effort to remedy practices that Washington deems unfair.

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On Monday the White House said it might consider more targeted tariffs than expected. In his latest announcement involving Venezuela, the president cited “numerous reasons” for what he called a “secondary tariff.”

He accused Venezuela of “purposefully and deceitfully” sending “undercover, tens of thousands of high level, and other, criminals” to the United States. He added in his post that “Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse.”

Under past rounds of US sanctions, Venezuela had been able to shift exports to major economies like China and India.

Trump’s latest move adds to a range of tariffs he has already vowed would start on or around April 2. He previously promised sweeping sector-specific duties hitting imported automobiles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

As things stand, however, his plans might become more targeted and affect certain trading partners more heavily. Sector-specific tariffs “may or may not happen April 2,” a White House official said on Monday, adding that the situation is “still fluid.”

“No final decisions have been made yet on sectoral tariffs being tacked onto reciprocal for April 2,” the official said. But the official reaffirmed that reciprocal tariffs would take place.

Appeals, not impeachments

Venezuelan migrants targeted by the Trump administration for deportation under a little-used 18th-century law must be allowed to challenge the decision to remove them, a judge ruled on Monday in rejecting the government’s request to set aside a temporary ban on such deportations.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2025