The Chinese Ministry of Finance announced on Friday, August 3, that it plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on LNG imports from the U.S. The new retaliatory tariffs would also impact copper (25 pct tariff increase), agriculture, as well as power/renewables.
The exact implementation date of the new tariffs is yet to be announced as Beijing awaits the official move of the Trump administration.
The escalation of the trade war between the two countries comes on the back of the 10 percent tariffs the U.S. imposed on July 11. What is more, the U.S. Government announced on August 2, that it plans to heighten these measures with an additional tax increase from 10 to 25 percent, impacting Chinese imports worth USD 200 billion.
The Chinese ministry said such actions were in violation of the consensus between the two countries and the trade rules agreed by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
As such, China is considering a move where it would hurt the U.S. the most- LNG exports.
The buoyant LNG exports, aided by the expanded Panama Canal, have supported Trump’s ambitions of making the U.S. an energy leader. In 2017, the country ramped up its production and quadrupled the amount of LNG shipped across the globe year-on-year. China imported 15 pct of the total amount of LNG shipped by the U.S. last year, making it the third top importer of LNG together with Mexico and South Korea, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows.
The U.S. is expected to account for 40% of the world’s extra gas production to 2022, thanks to its shale industry growth, based on the International Energy Agency (IEA), which predicts U.S would compete with Australia and Qatar in global LNG supply.
However, it should be noted that China is expected to drive global demand for gas accounting for up to 40 percent of the global share. Therefore, the new tariffs on LNG, if enforced, are likely to impact the country’s liquefied natural gas sector considerably.
On the other hand, Trump may have found an alternative, as last month he agreed with the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junker to boost LNG trade.
When it comes to China, the country is expected to take its demand elsewhere, creating a shift in trade lanes.
為應對美國宣布的新一波關稅，中國計劃 600億美元的反擊，其中包括從美國進口液化天然氣。
中國財政部於8月3日星期五宣布，它計劃對從美國進口的液化天然氣徵收25％的關稅。新的報復性關稅也將影響銅（25％的關稅增加），農業以及電力/可再生能源。
由於北京等待川普政府的正式行動，新關稅的確切實施日期尚未公佈。
兩國之間的貿易戰升級是在美國於7月11日實施的10％關稅的基礎上實施的。此外，美國政府於8月2日宣布計劃通過增加稅收來加強這些措施。 10％至25％，影響中國進口價值2000億美元。
中國外交部表示，這些行動違反了兩國的共識和世界貿易組織（WTO）商定的貿易規則。
因此，中國正在考慮採取行動，以最大限度地損害美國液化天然氣出口。
在擴大的巴拿馬運河的幫助下，上漲的液化天然氣出口支持了川普將美國作為能源領導者的野心。2017年，該國的產量增加，全球液化天然氣運輸量同比翻了兩番。美國能源情報署（EIA）的數據顯示，去年中國進口了液化天然氣總量的15％，與墨西哥和韓國一起成為液化天然氣的第三大進口國。
由於其頁岩產業的增長，預計美國將與澳大利亞和卡達在全球液化天然氣供應方面展開競爭，預計到2022年，美國將佔世界額外天然氣產量的40％，這要歸功於其頁岩產業的增長。
然而，應該指出的是，預計中國將推動全球天然氣需求佔全球份額的40％。因此，新的液化天然氣關稅如果得到執行，可能會對該國的液化天然氣行業造成相當大的影響。
另一方面，川普可能已經找到了另一種選擇，因為上個月他同意歐盟委員會主席讓 - 克勞德容克為促進液化天然氣貿易。
在談到中國時，預計該國將把需求轉移到其他地方，從而形成貿易通道的轉變。
Information source: World Maritime News Staff; Image Courtesy: Financial Time
