Amur gas processing plant
As the trade war between the U.S. and China intensifies, with an increase in tariffs on some $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent and with another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods in the cross-hairs, Beijing has vowed to retaliate. On Monday, it announced it
will increase tariffs imposed on about $60 billion of U.S. goods in retaliation for what it sees as President Donald Trump's latest escalation of the trade war. The increased tariffs will take effect on June 1, according to a
statement on China's Ministry of Finance's website. The charges will be raised on most of the goods listed on a previous retaliation list effective last September.
"China's tariff move is in response to the U.S. unilateralism and trade protectionism," the ministry also stated on Monday in a different statement. "China hopes that the U.S. will return to the right track of bilateral trade talks, work together with China and meet each other halfway, to reach a win-win and mutually beneficial agreement on the basis of mutual respect."
Part of the increased tariffs will include U.S liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, rising from a previous 10 percent levy to a damaging 25 percent starting June 1. The increase in tariffs already come as Chinese imports of the super-cooled fuel from the U.S. has plunged.
A Reuters report said that in 2018 some 27 LNG vessels traveled from the U.S. to China, down from 30 in 2017. Meanwhile, most of those that left U.S. ports last year did so before the trade war started, with 18 tankers going to China in the first half of the year and just nine during the second half.
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