China Condemns U.S. Tariffs Against Venezuela
Chinese FM spokesperson Guo Jiakun. X/ @fmonaldi
March 25, 2025 Hour: 10:04 am
Currently, Venezuela is the twelfth-largest oil exporter to China.
On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun called on Washington to “stop interfering in Venezuela’s internal affairs,” referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25% tariff on countries that purchase oil from the Caribbean nation.
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In addition to calling for the removal of U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, the Chinese diplomat stated that the United States “has long abused illegal unilateral sanctions” and “long-arm jurisdiction.”
Guo asserted that his country firmly opposes brutal interference in the affairs of other nations and urged Washington to “do more to promote Venezuela’s peaceful and stable development.”
“There are no winners in trade wars or tariff wars, and imposing tariffs will only result in greater losses for American businesses and consumers,” the Chinese diplomat added.
The U.S. tariffs on countries that purchase Venezuelan oil and gas will take effect on April 2. Trump left the imposition of these tariffs to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will apply them to the countries he deems appropriate.
In an initial message on the social network Truth Social, Trump stated that “any country that buys oil and/or gas from Venezuela will have to pay a 25% tariff to the United States on any trade transaction” conducted with the U.S.
This “secondary tariff” is in response to Venezuela having “intentionally and fraudulently” sent “tens of thousands of high-level criminals and other offenders” to the U.S, Trump said. Currently, Venezuela is the twelfth-largest oil exporter to the Asian giant, selling 1.4 million metric tons to China in 2024.
Shortly after returning to the White House, Trump had already decided to double the additional tariffs on China to 20%, justifying his decision by claiming that, in his view, Beijing is not doing enough to prevent fentanyl from entering the United States. It is currently unknown whether the potential new tariffs on China related to Venezuelan oil would be in addition to the already mentioned tariff increase.
During his first presidency (2017-2021), Trump had a tense relationship with Beijing, imposing several rounds of tariffs worth approximately US$370 billion annually, to which China responded with tariffs on U.S. exports.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
