Tariff

The Sino-U.S. trade war continued to widen this week as China was preparing to impose a 25% tariff on $16 billion worth of domestic imports but not on crude oil or liquefied natural gas (LNG). The announcement came one day after the Trump administration unveiled a similar tariff on a range of Chinese goods.

Mexico’s largest natural gas transport network, the Sistrangas, is set to overhaul its pipeline tariff regime later this year, according to energy regulators.

Houston-based National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) is beginning to see inklings of a recovery in the global oil and gas business, and while it’s not complete, the upturn “creeps a little closer every day,” CEO Clay Williams said.

Less than two weeks after the Trump administration rejected Plains All American Pipeline LP’s request for an exemption to a tariff on imported steel it already purchased for a pipeline in the booming Permian Basin, the COO urged House lawmakers to work to improve the exemption request process.

The United States and the European Union (EU) appeared to take a step back from an escalating trade war on Wednesday, with each pledging to negotiate a bilateral trade deal that would eliminate tariffs on steel and aluminum, among other things, and for Europe to build additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals, allowing member countries to purchase more U.S. gas.

Officials with the American Petroleum Institute (API) said their member oil and gas companies are frustrated with the process that the Trump administration established to request exemptions to tariffs on imported steel, with several petitions — including one for a pipeline to service the booming Permian Basin — already rejected on vague grounds.

Officials with the American Petroleum Institute (API) said their member companies have been frustrated with the process the Trump administration established for requesting an exemption to tariffs on imported steel, with several petitions already rejected on vague grounds.

Note: This is the third in a three-part NGI series titled “Navigating the Nascent LNG Market Through A Choppy World Trade Sea,” which explores the emerging global liquefied natural gas market and the challenges it poses to buyers and sellers seeking to capitalize on the worldwide expansions underway.

An escalating trade war with Canada, China and the European Union (EU) would be most devastating to six states, including major natural gas and oil producers Texas and Pennsylvania, according to a new analysis by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.