In a step that may undermine India's attempt to diversify its Venezuelan oil imports in the face of increasing geopolitical tensions, US President Donald Trump imposed a 25% "secondary tariff" on countries, including India and China, that buy Venezuelan oil. The new tariff, effective from April 2, would be over and above any current trade duties.
"Venezuela has been very unfriendly to the US and to the freedoms we represent. Because of this, any nation that purchases oil or gas from Venezuela will have to pay a 25% tariff on trade with our nation. This will be formally recorded and implemented from April 2," Trump stated in a social media announcement.
A report by Financial Times brought to attention that these tariffs would continue for a year since a nation's previous buying of Venezuelan crude, unless sooner exemption is released by the US Commerce Secretary.
India's Dependence on Venezuelan Crude
India re-initiated imports of oil from Venezuela in December 2023, after a three-year break due to US sanctions. Even though the restrictions were suspended for some time, crude deliveries have continued to arrive in countries such as India under limited sanction exemptions given to particular oil companies.
Curiously enough, the US itself was the second-largest Venezuelan oil purchaser in 2024, and China continued to be the largest importer.
India's dependence on Venezuelan crude has come down quite substantially in contrast to past years. Though India imports more than 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude, Venezuelan crude covered 65,000 bpd in January and 93,000 bpd in February 2025, reported commodity analytics firm Kpler.
Prior to US sanctions on Caracas in 2019, India—specifically Reliance Industries (RIL) and Nayara Energy (NEL)—was a prime purchaser of Venezuelan crude. During 2019, Venezuela was India's fifth-largest oil supplier with 16 million tonnes of crude.
Possible Impact on India
Increased Oil Import Prices: With India's oil dependence increasing to 88.2% (April–February FY25, from 87.7% in FY24), any further import restrictions may cause price hikes, impacting fuel prices.
Global Oil Market Volatility: If Venezuelan crude encounters greater impediments, global oil supply might get tighter, resulting in price increases that hit net importers such as India.
Strategic Oil Purchase by India: Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has repeatedly said that India will purchase inexpensive oil from available sources as long as no sanctions stop such purchases.
US Trade Negotiations Timing
The tariff warning coincides with a senior US delegation, featuring Assistant US Trade Representative Brendan Lynch, arriving in India for four-day talks beginning Tuesday. The US Embassy underscored that "trade" and "investment" would be the focus issues.
With India's most valuable import being crude oil, its consumption is expected to increase 4.7% in FY26 to 252.93 million tonnes, based on estimates by the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC). In contrast to other countries, India continues to be a strong growth center for oil demand because of its growing economy and comparatively low per capita energy consumption.
India's Refining Expansion
India is one of those rare countries where refining capacity is likely to grow immensely in the future. India's existing refining capacity stands around 257 million tonnes per year, meeting its increasing energy demand.
Given increasing oil consumption and continuing global energy volatility, the influence of Trump's secondary tariffs might play a key role in determining India's procurement strategy for oil in the near term.
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