US, Japan, South Korea commit to placing US LNG for energy security

The US, Japan and South Korea have committed to placing US LNG to bolster energy security and for mutual benefits, the countries said in a joint statement following a foreign ministerial trilateral meeting in Brussels on April 3.

"The Secretary and Foreign Ministers committed to continue strengthening energy security and energy cooperation, underpinned by America's LNG and other energy sources and technologies, in a mutually beneficial manner," the joint statement said.

The trilateral joint statement echoed a bilateral joint statement following a Feb. 7 summit meeting between US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, joined by South Korea.

In the joint statement, Trump and Ishiba spoke of their intention to bolster energy security "by unleashing the US' affordable and reliable energy and natural resources" and "by increasing exports of US LNG to Japan in a mutually beneficial manner."

The April 3 meeting -- attended by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya and South Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul -- took place after Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on imports from major trading partners, outlining a 10% baseline tariff on all imported goods, set to take effect on April 5.

US tariffs

The US reciprocal tariffs included a 24% tariff on Japan and a 25% tariff on South Korea, which had been revised from 25% to 26% but has now been restored to 25%. An official at South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said April 4 that the government has confirmed the revision of the US reciprocal tariff rate, with the rate for the country set at 25%, instead of 26%.

During the trilateral meeting, Cho called for the US to take the decades-long Seoul-Washington alliance and the trilateral partnership with Japan into account when implementing its reciprocal tariff measures, according to the South Korean foreign ministry.

"Cho expressed deep concern over the reciprocal tariffs announced by the US and called for the US to take into account the implications for its allies, the importance of close South Korea-US-Japan security cooperation, economic collaboration and South Korea's track record of investment in the US when implementing the tariff measures," the ministry said in a release.

Following the trilateral meeting, Iwaya had a standing chat with Rubio, during which the Japanese foreign minister "expressed strong regret regarding the announcement by the US government of reciprocal tariff measures and the activation of automobile tariff measures, and strongly requested a review of these measures," the ministry said in a separate statement.

US LNG

The trilateral joint statement came at a time when both Tokyo and Seoul were navigating discussions with Washington on boosting US LNG imports and considering investments in the Alaska gas pipeline.

In his speech to Congress on March 4, Trump said, "My administration is also working on a gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska, among the largest in the world, where Japan, South Korea and other nations want to be our partners with investments of trillions of dollars each."

"It will be truly spectacular. It is all set to go," Trump added.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun said March 20 that South Korea may increase LNG purchases from the US and review its push for the Alaska LNG project before deciding whether to join the project, as part of efforts to address Trump's trade and tariff pressures.

The 20-million-mt/year Alaska LNG project had struggled to gain traction for years amid the state's long-running challenges, including high project costs and difficulty securing customers. This led the state to shift efforts toward turning the project over to private interests.

US-based Glenfarne, which signed a deal with the Alaskan government entity managing the proposed Alaska LNG export project, said on March 28 that it expects to reach a final investment decision on a portion of an 800-mile pipeline that would connect Alaska North Slope supplies to the export terminal in Nikiski, located on the Kenai Peninsula in the southern part of the state.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, speaking at the recent CERAWeek energy conference by S&P Global in Houston, said he expects the LNG project to start up within five years, with interest from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.