US President Donald Trump's decree declared a state of national emergency and established a process for US foreign and trade ministers to assess tariffs on countries that sell or supply oil to Cuba.
The White House has not yet specified the tax rate for violations of the new policy aimed at preventing Cuba from buying oil.
The White House statement mentioned Cuba's relationship with Russia, Hamas and Hezbollah... to explain the new tax policy.
These actions constitute an unusual and serious threat to US national security and foreign policy, requiring immediate response to protect US citizens and interests," the White House said.
Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean, with about 8 million people, GDP of 85 billion USD, equivalent to the GDP of Rhode Island, USA.
The US has put pressure on other countries to stop supplying oil to Cuba before the announcement that tariffs would be imposed on January 29.
President Donald Trump has debated this issue with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for weeks.
Ms. Sheinbaum affirmed that Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex will continue to fulfill contract obligations with Havana and may supply oil for humanitarian reasons.
However, Ms. Sheinbaum admitted earlier this week that Mexican oil trips had been temporarily suspended.
Mexico is a major oil supplier to Cuba, supplying 20,000 barrels per day last year. This figure is less than 1/3 of the 70,000 barrels of oil per day that Venezuela supplied last year, according to the Miami Herald. However, Cuba is said to have resold most of its oil supply from Venezuela.
Cuba is facing great pressure after the US arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Under pressure from the US, Cuba has lost access to Venezuelan oil.
