Trump’s Threat of ‘Secondary Tariffs’ Invents New Trade Tool

By Kevin Breuninger
Bloomberg in Yahoo! Finance
March 25, 2025
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, International

President Trump appeared to invent a new economic statecraft tactic by threatening what he dubbed “secondary tariffs” on countries that buy oil from Venezuela to choke off its oil trade with other nations. The threat… said countries could face 25% tariffs on trade with the US if they purchase oil and gas from Venezuela, which is already under heavy US sanctions. …The novel approach adds to a growing list of tools that Trump has been eager to deploy as leverage in achieving its foreign and domestic policy goals. …With the threat, Trump appeared to be inventing a combination of tariffs and what are known as secondary sanctions, the financial punishments that can be imposed on other countries or people for doing business with sanctioned entities. …“China is the main actor this is directed at because it’s essentially the black market for Venezuelan oil,” Monaldi said.

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