The burgeoning trade war between the U.S. and China could reroute global flows of liquefied natural gas in ways that accelerate the clean energy transition — or lead to a dangerous spike in climate pollution.
China is a leading importer of U.S. LNG. But prospects of future sales to China look grim after President Donald Trump announced a new 34 percent tariff on Chinese goods last week, and Beijing fired back with retaliatory tariffs that brought the total levy on U.S. LNG imports to 49 percent.
Analysts say the fight over LNG creates an opening for both coal and renewables while threatening to undercut Trump’s goal of boosting U.S. oil and gas exports.
Chinese companies have lined up to sign long-term supply contracts for U.S. LNG in recent years, helping finance a wave of new export terminals along the Gulf Coast. Foreign buyers, Chinese and otherwise, are likely to be more reluctant to sign those contracts in the wake of Trump’s tariffs, said Ira Joseph, an analyst who tracks the gas industry at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.
