Trump said India will start buying oil from Venezuela, helping to replace some of the Russian oil that the world’s third-biggest oil importer buys.
“We’ve already made that deal, the concept of the deal,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he travelled to his vacation home in Florida from Washington.
According to Reuters, the United States has told Delhi it could soon resume purchases of Venezuelan oil to help replace imports of Russian oil, citing three people familiar with the matter.
This follows the U.S. slapping a tariff of 50% on India for its purchase of Russian oil in an effort to pressure Moscow into negotiating a peace deal with Ukraine.
Last month, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the additional 25% tariff on Indian goods could be removed if India significantly reduced imports of Russian oil.
In March last year, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on countries buying Venezuelan oil as tensions rose with former leader Nicolas Maduro’s administration.
This week, the U.S. government lifted some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry to make it easier for U.S. companies to sell its crude oil.
The U.S. president also said his country intends to control Venezuela’s oil sales and revenues indefinitely after abducting Maduro last month.
Trump also said China could make a deal with the U.S. to buy Venezuelan oil.
“China is welcome to come in and would make a great deal on oil,” Trump said, without providing any details.
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