S&P Global Offerings
Featured Topics
Featured Products
Events
S&P Global Offerings
Featured Topics
Featured Products
Events
S&P Global Offerings
Featured Topics
Featured Products
Events
Solutions
Capabilities
Delivery Platforms
News & Research
Our Methodology
Methodology & Participation
Reference Tools
Featured Events
S&P Global
S&P Global Offerings
S&P Global
Research & Insights
Solutions
Capabilities
Delivery Platforms
News & Research
Our Methodology
Methodology & Participation
Reference Tools
Featured Events
S&P Global
S&P Global Offerings
S&P Global
Research & Insights
S&P Global Offerings
Featured Topics
Featured Products
Events
Support
LNG, Coal, Agriculture, Biofuel
March 04, 2025
HIGHLIGHTS
Imposes 10%-15% tariff targeting agricultural imports
No US LNG imports without tariff exemption: traders
In response to the second round of tariffs imposed by the US, China has announced the implementation of new tariffs on US goods, primarily targeting agricultural imports while excluding energy products such as LNG, according to the latest announcement from the Ministry of Finance on March 4.
China will impose an additional 10-15% tariff on US agricultural products starting March 10, the announcement added.
On March 3, the US said it would increase tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20% from the previous 10%, effective March 4. Prior to this, China had imposed a retaliatory 15% tariff on US coal and LNG, along with an additional 10% on US crude imports effective Feb. 10.
The 15% tariff on US LNG would significantly hinder imports of the product into China, domestic trade sources said.
"It's highly likely that there won't be any US LNG directly imported into China if the tariff cannot be exempted," said a trade source from one of the national oil companies.
China is estimated to have imported only one LNG cargo from the US before the tariff took effect on Feb. 6, compared with three cargoes in both January and December, according to shipping data from Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.
However, this may have not fully reflected the impact of tariffs on US LNG imports. China also imported just one US LNG cargo in February 2024, the data indicated.
Chinese LNG importers have been optimizing their exposure to US-origin LNG cargoes since Beijing announced the 15% retaliatory tariffs, swapping them for non-US LNG to evade the high tariffs, according to domestic trade sources.
Whether the trade dispute between China and the US will escalate further and whether LNG will be included in China's third wave of countermeasures will largely depend on the US, said a trade source in southern China.
Chinese companies with exposure to US LNG term contracts primarily include NOCs and second-tier companies such as PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC, Sinochem, Guangdong Energy, Foran Energy, ENN Energy, and China Gas, Platts data showed.
These companies hold approximately 21 term contracts with a total volume of 25.6 million mt/year, of which around 4.2 million mt/year of cargoes have commenced delivery, according to the data.
Platts assessed JKM -- the benchmark price for cargo delivered to Northeast Asia -- for April at $13.800/MMBtu on March 3.
Gain access to exclusive research, events and more