China stops importing liquefied natural gas from US due to tariffs

China has halted imports of liquefied natural gas from the U.S. for the past 40 days amid an escalating global trade war since President Donald Trump took office, reported Bloomberg.

The purchase freeze was the result of Trump’s imposing an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese imports on Feb. 2. In response, China imposed 15% tariffs on U.S. LNG imports and a lower tariff on crude oil imports.

China is the world’s largest buyer of LNG. The U.S. is the top global LNG shipper but was the No. 4 supplier to China in 2024.

In 2024, the top three suppliers of LNG to China were Australia, Qatar and Russia.

China’s LNG imports from the U.S. totaled 4.16 million metric tons in 2024, worth $2.4 billion, according to customs data. 

In recent weeks, Chinese LNG buyers with long-term supply contracts with U.S. producers have started reselling the fuel to European buyers, Bloomberg said. 

Chinese traders are also seeking long-term deals with gas producers in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific, rather than companies in the U.S.

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The first contract between China and a U.S.-based LNG producer was with Houston-based Cheniere Energy Inc. in February 2018, according to a study by the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE: LNG) is the largest exporter of LNG in the U.S. and was the second-largest LNG producer in the world last year, according to its website.

In February 2025, Corpus Christi Stage 3, an expansion of the existing Port of Corpus Christi LNG export facility, shipped its first LNG cargo, Cheniere Energy said.

There are currently seven LNG export facilities in the U.S., including Louisiana (Sabine Pass, Cameron LNG and Plaquemines LNG), Texas (Corpus Christi LNG, Freeport LNG), Maryland (Cove Point LNG) and Georgia (Elba Island LNG), according to the Energy Information Administration.

Four LNG export facilities are under construction in the U.S., including in Plaquemine, Louisiana, and Brownsville, Port Arthur and Sabine Pass, Texas.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration granted Venture Global LNG Inc. conditional approval to export natural gas from its proposed $28 billion CP2 LNG export project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

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