Immigration trumps sanctions in US-Vz talks: Update

Market: Crude oil
31/01/25

Adds comment from Trump.

US president Donald Trump's administration is prioritizing discussions on immigration and detainees over other issues in relations with Venezuela, suggesting no imminent move to tighten sanctions on oil exports.

US special envoy Ric Grenell landed in Caracas, Venezuela, today to discuss repatriations and the liberation of US citizens detained in the South American country, the White House confirmed.

The envoy went with two orders from Trump: to ensure that "Venezuelan nationals that have broken our nation's laws will land in Venezuela," and that "all US detainees in Venezuela are returned," a White House official said.

National assembly president Jorge Rodriguez and foreign minister Yvan Gil were shown on Venezuelan television meeting Grenell on the tarmac.

The US said it plans to deport 400 members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua that it has arrested.

US citizens in custody in Venezuela include three arrested in September for allegedly plotting to overthrow Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Another six US citizens are also being held in Venezuela, according to human rights groups.

The negotiations with Venezuela do not mean that the US recognizes Maduro as a legitimate president, the official said. The US and many other countries hold that Venezuela's July elections were fradulant and that exiled opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez won the vote.

The US in April in the run-up to the election revoked a temporary lifting of some crude sanctions on Venezuela after it became clear that Venezuela would not let primary opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado run. Gonzalez ran in her place.

Trump has discussed possibly tightening crude sanctions on Venezuela, which were originally put in place during his first term. Former president Joe Biden's administration began allowing Chevron to export crude again from its joint ventures in Venezuela to the US only, which averages about 200,000 b/d.

The US president critized that shift today, but did not mention increasing sanctions.

"We're not going to let that stupid stuff happen," Trump said. "So we'll see what happens. We're not happy with Venezuela."

The meetings come as secretary of state Marco Rubio begins his first foreign visit in his new capacity with a stop in Panama. Trump has demanded concessions for US vessels passing through the critical waterway and publicly mulled taking over the canal from Panama.

Grenell's discussions do not indicate a change in US priorities about Venezuela just as Rubio goes to the region, US special envoy on Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone said.

The US urged Maduro to heed Grenell's demands "and what he puts on the table, because ultimately there will be consequences otherwise," Claver-Carone said.

By Carla Bass and Carlos Camacho

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US needs to ‘feel the pain’ for tariffs: Ford

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Trump says 'all set' on Canada, Mexico tariffs: Update

03/03/25

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Trump says 'all set' on Canada, Mexico tariffs: Update

Updates with changes throughout Washington, 3 March (Argus) — President Donald Trump said today he will proceed with plans to impose stiff tariffs on energy and other imports from Canada and Mexico on Tuesday. "The tariffs, you know, they're all set, they go into effect tomorrow," Trump told reporters at the White House this afternoon, adding that there was "no room for a deal" to avert what would be a continent-wide trade war. Under the executive orders Trump signed a month ago, the US will impose a 10pc tax on Canadian energy imports, a 25pc tariff on non-energy imports from Canada and a 25pc tariff on all imports from Mexico. The effective date for the tariffs is 12:01am ET on Tuesday. Trump clarified that he is sticking to the same rate of tariffs set out in his executive order, after his advisers over the weekend suggested he could apply a lower rate. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent pointed to a proposal by Mexico City to match the level of tariffs Trump has leveled or is planning to impose on imports from China, as a way to avoid a trade war between the US and its neighbors. "It would be a nice gesture if the Canadians did it also, so in a way we could have 'Fortress North America' from the flood of Chinese imports," Bessent said in a televised interview. Trump ordered a 10pc tariff on all imports from China, effective on 4 February. He is threatening to double that tax on Tuesday. The rate would be in addition to all previously imposed tariffs on imports from China. Trump's announcement came just one day after US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick suggested the tariffs to be imposed on Canadian and Mexican imports might not be as high as those set out in Trump's order last month. Already vast segments of the energy industry — oil and gas producers, refiners, pipeline operators, traders — have been bracing for potentially disruptive outcomes. US independent refiners, already facing weaker margins, falling demand and regulatory uncertainty in their burgeoning renewables businesses, expect that tariffs will lead to higher feedstock costs and will cause some to reduce runs, cutting further into profits. A major European energy trading company has redirected some volumes of natural gas that were scheduled to flow across the US border into Canada to reduce the company's exposure to the threat of impending tariffs. The imposition of tariffs after decades of free trade in energy across North America is expected to create legal uncertainty in contractual obligations related to the payment of tariffs and reporting requirements. The current US import duties on crude are set at 5.25¢/bl and 10.5¢/bl, depending on crude quality. The administration has said the new tariff would be based on the value of the commodity — without specifying how that will be calculated and at what specific point during the transportation process. US government agencies are not expected to clarify the implementation details until Trump's executive order on tariffs goes into effect. By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Opec+ eight agree to boost output from April

03/03/25

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03/03/25

Opec+ eight agree to boost output from April

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Venezuela oil can flow despite sanctions U-turn

03/03/25

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03/03/25

Venezuela oil can flow despite sanctions U-turn

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Sheinbaum urges calm ahead of Trump tariff deadline

03/03/25

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Sheinbaum urges calm ahead of Trump tariff deadline

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