Though the US banned Russian oil and gas imports in March 2022, soon after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, some have made their way to US soil via embargo loopholes.
So, even though US President Donald Trump threatened additional secondary tariffs Sunday, March 30, on Russian oil to coerce Moscow to the negotiating table, the tariffs would likely be imposed on third nations to discourage them from buying Russian oil rather than on Moscow directly.
What does Trump’s secondary tariff mean?
According to Kristen Welker, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press” news program, Trump said on Sunday he was “angry, pissed off” over the Kremlin’s suggestion to impose a UN-led administration on Ukraine and hinted at his irritation over Moscow’s lack of cooperation with his ceasefire proposal.
“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault – which it might not be,” Trump continued, “then I’m going to put secondary tariffs… on all oil coming out of Russia.”
Trump suggested it would be done via secondary tariffs on Russian oil that range from 25% to 50%.
“That would be, that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States… There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil,” Trump said, adding that they could be imposed within a month, according to Reuters.
In simple terms, secondary tariffs are imposed on companies or countries that purchase Russian oil to discourage them from doing business with Russia. However, it is unclear if Trump plans to impose tariffs on countries or companies that purchase Russian oil.
Trump announced similar tariffs on countries purchasing Venezuelan oil via an Executive Order on March 24.
The tariffs would likely boost oil prices in the short term if countries opt for other oil sources as a result, but the tariff’s effectiveness and resulting market fluctuations are unclear at this stage, given the lack of details, particularly on how the tariffs would be imposed.
Trump had previously discussed the possibility of imposing tariffs on Russia should the Kremlin not cooperate in peace talks. He explained to NBC, “If you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States.”
Does US import oil from Russia?
Yes and no. In short, the US banned Russian crude oil and gas imports, but refined products have made their way into the US.
The ban was imposed by former US President Joe Biden on March 8, 2022, days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, via an Executive Order.
It stipulates a ban of “Russian crude oil and certain petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, and coal,” as well as “new US investment in Russia’s energy sector.”
Screenshot of Biden’s Executive Order on March 8, 2022.
The page, under the White House, is now defunct.
However, CNN said that as of February 2024, more than $1 billion of oil products refined from Russian crudes were imported from India to the US in 2023.
PBS News said in a November 2023 report that “hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of fuel, in part made from Russian crude,” have made their way to the US.
PBS News, citing environmental NGO Global Witness at the time, said India’s Jamnagar refining complex imported Russian crude and blended them with “other foreign crude and refined into gasoline, diesel, and other products that can be legally bought by American companies.”
The refined products were then transported via the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean, and eventually the US.
Canada’s CBC News reported in January 2025 that a large amount of refined oil products also made their way into Canada via similar means, noting that they were refined in countries such as Turkey and India from a combination of Russian and foreign crudes. It said those imports “have provided the Kremlin with just over $100 million in revenue.”