Executive Order
#14245 – Imposing Tariffs on Countries Importing Venezuelan Oil (March 24, 2025)
Highlights
“Secondary tariffs”
Trigger: Any country that buys Venezuelan oil on/after 2 Apr 2025.
Penalty: 25 % tariff on all of that country’s goods entering the U.S.
Process: Commerce decides if the country imported the oil; State then levies the tariff.
Sunset: Tariff ends one year after the country’s last Venezuelan-oil import (or sooner if Commerce lifts it).
Key Compliance/Risk Cue
Implications of Imposing Secondary Tariffs EO 14245 is believed to be the first time that the U.S. has imposed “secondary tariffs” on countries' imports for purchasing the initially-tariffed item, in this case, Venezuela Oil.
Litigation Snapshot
No pending lawsuits directly challenging Executive Order 14245 (“Imposing Tariffs on Countries Importing Venezuelan Oil,” Mar. 24 2025)