Daily Energy Report
China halts US LNG imports, Canada oil exports, China gasoline exports, France LNG terminal idle, Russia Arctic LNG 2, US nuclear, German EV job cuts, Brazil ethanol, Venezuela production, and more.
March 18, 2025
Chart of the Day
Bloomberg: China Halts US LNG Imports as Trade War Reroutes Deliveries
Summary
China has not imported US LNG for 40 days—the longest gap since June 2023—due to a 15% tariff imposed by Beijing on February 10. This has disrupted trade between the world’s top LNG seller and buyer, with Chinese firms redirecting US shipments to Europe and seeking alternatives from Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, including a new 15-year deal with Australia’s Woodside starting 2027. China is also boosting domestic gas production and relying on cheaper coal, renewables, and Russian piped gas, reducing seaborne LNG demand.
Figure (1) shows US LNG exports to China since early 2022. Exports dropped sharply in October and have since declined to zero in 2025 (the flat red line). We posted our Q1 forecast, which we made last November. Though our forecast (the red dotted line) differs significantly from actual numbers, we were not far off, as explained below in the Takeaways. Note that the summary above discusses China’s LNG IMPORTS from the US, while the chart shows US EXPORTS, the difference reflects the shipping time to China.