that the company is the property of, the rightful rulers, the rightful leaders, then indeed that money will be available to guaido. we will be working with them on the money in the blocked account and whether that can be used for them. could you explain to the country what strategic interests in the united states in venezuela now and the immediate future? what is at stake for us and why this significant response in abeyance of this transfer of government is achieved? we think stability and democracy in venezuela are in the direct national interests of the united states right now. under the chavez maduro government, civil society in venezuela is disintegrating. the economy is in the state of collapse. something in the range of three million to four million refugees have fled the country for neighboring countries and the united states. authoritarian regime of chavez
the united states economy is growing at record levels, putting the president in a strong position to fix trade concerns with china. on thursday, the president will meet with the chinese vice premier who is here this work for continued talks. president trump is committed to achieving greater market access for u.s. exports and better treatment for our farmers, ranchers and businesses. fair and reciprocal trade with china will boost long-term growth in the united states but globally. as the president said last week, the united states proudly stands with the people of venezuela who have spoken out against the-co runt and illegitimate regime of nicholas maduro. maduro must allow for free, fair elections in according with democratic principles to speak more about u.s. policy towards venezuela and to take your questions, i d like to welcome national security adviser, master john bolton, secretary of the treasury steve mnuchin and larry kudlow. after that, i ll be up to take
in the past hours, the first consulate in miami, scarlet salazar, has also declared for interim president guaido. i call on all responsible nations to recognize interim president guaido immediately. maduro has made clear that he will not recognize guaido or call for new elections. now is the time to stand for democracy and prosperity in venezuela. i reiterate the united states will hold venezuelan security forces responsible for the safety of all u.s. diplomatic personnel, the national assembly and president guaido. any violence against these groups will signify a gave assault on the rule of law and will be met with a significant response. now let me give the floor to steve mnuchin that will describe the sanctions we re imposing. thank you. today treasury took action
those imports have fallen substantially in recent months. we have also issued general licenses to ensure that certain european and caribbean countries can make an orderly transition. we call on our allies and partners to join the united states in recognizing interim president guaido and blocking maduro from being able to access funds. thank you. i d be happy to answer questions. ask mr. bolton. you mentioned significant response. how do you define that? we re not going to define it. we want the venezuelan security forces to know that the opposition and most importantly american personnel are not harmed. this is an unequivocal statement on our part. is there any circumstance under which american forces would get involved? the president has made it clear on this matter that all
how much progress has been played? again, there s significant movement and we re working through very complicated issues. mr. secretary, i want to go back to the gas prices. i understand that you re saying the gas prices are low now. but in the midst of this, with all of this happening in venezuela, how long do you believe that this will the gas prices will move to a modest impact on the oil industry and can you quantify by how much? by cents, by tens of cents or dollars. what is the modest impact? let me comment that in general, i ve said this before, markets are not always efficient. they move in different directions. i want to be careful and not speculate on markets. i think kind of oil went up a lot right before the iran sanctions. we were surprised that it went up so much. i think you know president trump had been on the phone with many world leaders making sure there