The United States wants to further ease Venezuelan oil sanctions

According to five people familiar with the matter, U.S. officials are drafting a proposal.If Venezuela holds free and fair presidential elections, sanctions on the South American country's oil industry will be relaxed, allowing more companies and countries to import Venezuelan crude.

Washington has been trying to encourage Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the political opposition to negotiate over elections and other Venezuelan demands. Maduro was sanctioned by the United States after his re-election in 2018, which many Western countries consider a hoax.

Easing sanctions has been a "carrot" that the US has offered in the past, but it has so far granted only a few authorisations, including one to Chevron that allows it to expand its operations in Venezuela and export oil to the US since November.

Washington continues to insist that further easing of sanctions will depend on the progress of the election.The White House said Wednesday that the Biden administration is ready to ease sanctions on Venezuela if it takes action to restore democracy.

A White House National Security Council spokesperson said: "We are prepared to provide sanctions relief if Venezuela takes concrete action to restore democracy and hold free and fair elections."

Mr. Maduro's representatives, the opposition and US officials began a new round of talks in Mexico in November but made little progress. A White House spokesperson said Venezuela had not taken the necessary steps to restore democracy.

The White House declined to comment on the oil sanctions restructuring proposal. Venezuelan negotiator Jorge Rodriguez and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

according toIndustrial foreign exchangeAccording to people familiar with the matter,The United States is considering a specific proposal to reimpose oil sanctions on Venezuela so that crude buyers in Europe and elsewhere can also resume imports of Venezuelan oil in an organized manner.The proposal could require Biden to amend a U.S. executive order on Venezuela issued by his predecessor, Donald Trump, in 2019, or issue a new one.

They added that if the parties agree to the deal and a series of political demands, including a presidential election, the new sanctions framework will only maintain restrictions on Venezuela's oil trade with countries such as China, Iran, and Russia.

Dinorah Figuera, the head of the opposition-led National Assembly, which controls foreign assets, rejected an earlier version of the proposal in July after discussions with Venezuela's main opposition party, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The United States rejected the draft proposal because Mr. Maduro has so far failed to take concrete steps to achieve fair elections in Venezuela, two of the people said. The proposal could become one of the powerful negotiating tools in future meetings with Mr. Maduro's envoys. Mr. Figuera's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Rodriguez said in July that Venezuela would not accept international observation of any election, and the government has barred prominent politicians from running as opposition candidates in the final election.