On March 24, 2025, President Trump, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (“IEEPA”), the National Emergencies Act ((50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, issued an Executive Order (the “EO”) titled Imposing Tariffs on Countries Importing Venezuelan Oil. The EO was issued in the context of the emergency declared with respect to Venezuela in Executive Order 13692 of March 8, 2015 (Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela), continued by the notice on February 27, 2025 issued by President Trump.
Section 2(a) of the EO states that,
On or after April 2, 2025, a tariff of 25 percent may be imposed on all goods imported into the United States from any country that imports Venezuelan oil, whether directly from Venezuela or indirectly through third parties. Duties imposed by this order will be supplemental to duties on imports already imposed pursuant to IEEPA, section 232 of the Trade Expansion of 1962, section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, or any other authority.
This latest EO seems to draw inspiration from secondary sanctions structures, where a president gives authority to the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to impose sanctions on third-party entities engaging in transactions with entities or individuals subject to US sanctions.
While the EO provides the structure to impose 25% tariffs on goods from countries who import oil from Venezuela, it does not mandate the imposition of such tariffs nor does it authorize such tariffs to go into effect immediately. Instead, Section 2(b) states that the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretaries of Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security, as well as the United States Trade Representative, is “authorized to determine in his discretion whether the tariff of 25 percent will be imposed on goods from any country that imports Venezuelan oil, directly or indirectly…”
Under Section 2(c), if tariffs are imposed pursuant to this EO, the tariffs will expire either: (1) 1 year after the last date of import of Venezuelan oil; or (2) at an earlier date if the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Homeland Security, and the United States Trade Representative determines early removal of the tariffs is warranted.
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