COMMENTARY: Pressure on the Caribbean – A Blow to PetroCaribe

….by Audley Phillip 

In what could be seen as a severe blow to Caribbean Nations, the United States just announced a 25 percent tariff on any country that buys oil and gas from Venezuela. 

Caribbean countries have longed enjoy favorable and concessionary terms for their petroleum products from Venezuela. 

This would be a significant strike  to the Caribbean   and could mean exorbitant oil and gas increase if we were forced to buy them  from alternative sources. 

BACK GROUND:

(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday issued an executive order declaring that any country buying oil or gas from Venezuela will pay a 25% tariff on trades with the U.S., while his administration extended a deadline for U.S. producer Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab to wind down operations in the South American country.

Trump’s new policy relieves some pressure on Chevron to quickly exit Venezuela after the U.S. Treasury Department on March 4 gave it 30 days to wind down operations. Trump had issued the initial wind-down after he accused President Nicolas Maduro of not making progress on electoral reforms and migrant returns.

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Treasury said on Monday it would wait seven more weeks until May 27 before terminating a license that the U.S. has granted to Chevron since 2022 to operate in sanctioned Venezuela and export its oil to the United States.

Chevron’s extension came hours after Trump announced the new tariff, saying Venezuela has sent “tens of thousands” of people to the United States who have a “very violent nature.”

The two moves temporarily focus Trump’s pressure on buyers of Venezuelan crude oil other than the United States, such as China, though it is uncertain how his administration will enforce the tariff.

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