Trump's executive order, which took Chinese traders and refiners by surprise, establishes that the United States can impose 25% tariffs on goods from any country that imports Venezuelan oil starting April 2.

Venezuelan crude oil trade with its main buyer, China, stalled on Tuesday following a decree by U.S. President Donald Trump threatening tariffs on countries that buy from Caracas, days after U.S. sanctions on Chinese imports from Iran.

Trump's executive order, which took Chinese traders and refiners by surprise, establishes that the United States can impose 25% tariffs on goods from any country importing Venezuelan oil, at the discretion of the Secretary of State, starting April 2.

Chinese traders and refiners said they are waiting to see how the decree is implemented and whether Beijing will tell them to stop buying, though several industry insiders said they expect the flows to continue, pointing to Trump's frequent reversals of tariff threats.

A senior executive at a regular Chinese trader of Venezuelan oil said the firm will refrain from buying any April shipments. "The worst thing in the oil market is the uncertainty. We won't dare touch oil for now," he told Reuters.

Another trading executive at an independent refinery that occasionally buys Venezuelan oil said the order creates significant confusion and will also affect Singapore-based buyers of Venezuelan fuel oil.

"It's a total mess," the executive said. "China is already in a tariff war with the United States. So be it."

A third trader also said that independent refiners, the main Chinese buyers of Venezuelan crude, are pausing while seeking information on whether supply will remain available and at what price.

China is Venezuela's largest oil buyer, directly and indirectly receiving 503,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan crude and fuel, or 55% of its exports, most of which are rebranded as Malaysian after transshipment.