Trump's New Secondary Tariff Strategy Lacks Finesse, Involves Millions

This edition examines how the Trump administration's newfound secondary tariff strategy and its application against Venezuela might inflict lots of collateral damage.

Latam Insights Encore is a weekly analysis of the most relevant economic and crypto trends in Latin America.

This edition delves into how the Trump administration’s secondary tariff strategy and its application against Venezuela might inflict lots of collateral damage.

The introduction of a new economic warfare weapon in the figure of secondary tariffs against countries purchasing oil against Venezuela got me thinking about the real efficiency of these boycotts and the collateral damage that this kind of measure causes to the general population.

Trump's newfound strategy against Venezuelan migration involves blocking the purchase of oil, the first exportation product of the country, from other nations, which would have to pay up to 25% in tariffs to continue to do business with the U.S. otherwise.

This, qualified by some analysts as a "never seen before" strategy, and the ending of operative licenses for companies like Chevron is already affecting the country's monetary stability, prompting the Venezuelan bolivar to plunge on the possible consequences of this move.

The measure, which I consider to be overkill for its purposes, is already making thousands poorer with its scope and size. Nonetheless, this seems to be an attempt to validate the feasibility of applying this kind of action, still novel, against other bigger foes like Russia and China.

If successful, this situation will surely make way for the more general application of this economic warfare tool against smaller countries, affecting the lives and economies of millions considered "collateral damage" in the process.

While nations like China and Russia might be able to withstand the might of these veiled sanctions, citizens of countries like Venezuela, like myself, will be undoubtedly touched negatively by this catastrophic approach.

With a recession in sight and an upcoming explosion of inflation, Venezuelans can only brace for the economic crisis that will ensue as the Trump administration looks to deal with its migration crisis with a "nuke against fly" approach.