US LNG exports to China start to flow again

LNG carriers have been seen heading towards the north China hub of Tianjin after departing from US LNG terminals on the Gulf coast. Unconfirmed reports suggest there have been some waivers of the 25% tariff Beijing imposed on LNG imports from the US

ENCOURAGING signs of trade normalisation are beginning to emerge as China is reported to have started granting tax waivers to some liquefied natural gas importers, resulting in shipments of US LNG starting to make their way to the giant Asian consumer.

Reuters cited trading sources as saying that the Chinese government has started granting the waivers to some importers of US LNG on a commodity that had seen tariffs being jacked up to 25% during the Sino-US trade tensions last year.

Exactly which companies received the waivers and by how much the tariff was cut was not immediately clear.

Reuters cited tracking data as showing that four LNG carriers, SK Resolute, Cool Explorer, Höegh Giant and Palu LNG are making their way towards China with expected arrivals between late April and early May.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows that SK Resolute is heading for the northern China hub of Tianjin after having left the Cameron LNG plant on the US Gulf coast.

The data also shows Höegh Giant had loaded at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal, also in Lousiana on the Gulf coast, and is headed for Tianjin as well.

Palu LNG loaded at the Corpus Christi LNG plant and is also signalling an arrival in Tianjin in the second half of April.

Cool Explorer, while having loaded at Sabine Pass, has signalled China as a destination but left the exact port ambiguous.

Tianjin is a major LNG hub for the north China region, with state-owned companies CNOOC, Sinopec and PetroChina all having facilities there. This is the first time since March 2019 that LNG shipments from the US to China have resumed after the trade tensions between the two economic giants.

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