Venezuela-Trump Impact: For 1% Import Will India Risk 25% US Tariff Levy?

US President Donald Trump on Monday stated that he would levy a 25% tariff on any country buying oil or gas from Venezuela. "Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse," he wrote in a post on Truth Social.

India's oil imports from the South American country increased in late 2023 and early 2024 and it became Venezuela's top crude buyer. As per Ministry of Commerce data, Venezuelan oil accounted for almost 1% of India's crude import bill from the April 2024 to December 2024 period.

As per Ministry of Commerce data, India bought $1 billion worth of Venezuelan oil between April 2024 and December 2024. This marks a 27% increase from the $800 million worth of oil bought in 2023-24. Venezuelan oil accounted for 0.93% of India's import bill.

In terms of quantity, out of the 1.4 billion barrels of oil imported by India in the April-December 2024 period, Venezuela accounted for 1.05% of India's imports. India imported 15.5 million barrels of oil from the country, as per latest data from Ministry of Commerce.

Reliance Industries Ltd. is currently the only Indian company importing Venezuelan oil, according to multiple analysts in the know. The company had secured official clearance from US authorities to import oil from the country in July 2024.

However, this clearance was well before the Trump administration took office.