President Donald Trump is now testing something new—“secondary tariffs”—targeting not just Venezuela but any country that dares to buy its oil. If you’re trading with Caracas, Trump wants to slap you with a 25% tariff on your exports to the U.S.
This move, which he announced on Truth Social and then made official with an executive order, isn’t just another policy experiment. It’s a direct hit on Venezuela’s oil trade and any nation keeping it alive.
The stated reason? Trump claims Venezuela has sent “tens of thousands of high level, and other, criminals” into the U.S. He’s using economic pressure to force action. The U.S. already has sanctions on Venezuela. This new idea takes things even further—punishing other countries for working with them.
Trump pushes new type of tariff
“This is a new concept in economic warfare,” said Francisco Monaldi, who runs the Latin American energy policy program at Rice University. “How is it enforceable? It’s unclear of course.”
But Trump’s not waiting for clarity. He’s combining traditional tariffs with what’s known as secondary sanctions—punishments for anyone who does business with a country the U.S. already has under restrictions. In this case, the warning is for buyers of Venezuelan oil.
This isn’t just aimed at one or two countries. Venezuela’s oil still reaches Spain, India, and the U.S. through companies like Chevron, Repsol, and Reliance—all operating under special licenses. Then there’s China, which handles a good chunk of black-market oil from Venezuela. And that’s who Trump is really looking at.
“China is the main actor this is directed at because it’s essentially the black market for Venezuelan oil,” Monaldi added. “They would not have to do secondary tariffs if it wasn’t for China.”
Order targets China, includes Hong Kong and Macau
The executive order hands power to Secretary of State Marco Rubio starting April 2. He can decide if a country should be hit with the 25% penalty for importing Venezuelan oil. Whether that’s directly or indirectly doesn’t matter.
The order doesn’t list specific targets, but it makes one thing clear—China’s not getting away. The tariff, if triggered, would apply not just to mainland China but also to Hong Kong and Macau, and these are the only locations named aside from Venezuela.
“Sometimes he views tariffs as a form of sanction,” said Josh Lipsky from the Atlantic Council. “He believes, and he’s been clear about this since the campaign, that financial sanctions lead to de-dollarization.”
That mindset is driving Trump to invent new tools. Lipsky added that while Joe Biden expanded the use of old economic levers, Trump is building new ones.
Tariffs serve three goals under Trump
As you can see below, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent broke it down in simple terms. Trump’s tariffs fall into three buckets. First, as leverage in trade talks. Second, to raise revenue and help cover the cost of extending the 2017 tax cuts. Third, to rebalance trade in America’s favor. Trump doesn’t pick one at a time. Sometimes he’s doing all three.
That’s how it played out with Colombia. Early in his second term, Trump threatened them with tariffs, sanctions, visa bans, and more. The reason? Colombia refused to accept deported migrants. The country folded fast, worried about getting caught in a costly trade war.
A former Biden official confirmed that this is just how Trump works. “In Trump’s mind, the advantage of tariffs is that even if your target doesn’t cave and you have to impose them, at least you get some cash,” said Peter Harrell, who worked on international economics at the National Security Council.
The strategy might be clear, but reactions haven’t been calm.
China, Canada, and Mexico respond
China didn’t wait. They answered with tariffs up to 15% on American farm goods and even banned exports to some U.S. defense contractors. Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the American moves “evil” and “two-faced.”
Canada wasn’t quiet either. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the move “a very dumb thing to do.” After Trump rolled out his blanket tariffs, Canada slapped back with 25% tariffs on C$30 billion worth of U.S. goods. That includes orange juice, peanut butter, wine, and coffee. These are still in place. Canada’s waiting to launch a second round, which would hit cars, steel, and aluminum—but they’ve put that on pause for now.
Mexico played it differently. President Claudia Sheinbaum skipped the tit-for-tat. She went to the table instead. It worked—for now. Trump said on Truth Social that he’s delaying tariffs on Mexican imports until after April 2 “as an accommodation, and out of respect for President Sheinbaum.”
Trump eyes higher tariffs if countries resist
Trump isn’t stopping at 25%. If countries keep buying oil from Venezuela, he could push that up to 30% or more. If they start cooperating? He might bring it down. Either way, it’s a tool that lets him adjust pressure in real time.
The bottomline is Trump is using the U.S. economy as a weapon, again. He’s targeting foreign governments, corporations, and even grey market operators. And it’s all wrapped in a label he just coined—secondary tariffs.
Whether or not it holds up in court, whether or not it’s even enforceable, doesn’t seem to matter to him. It’s live. It’s loud. And like everything else Trump does, it makes very little sense.
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