Taiwan to pledge more US oil and gas imports to avoid tariff

Taiwan is pledging to buy more U.S. oil and gas, which is a focus of the tariff talks with the Trump Administration, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said on Tuesday.

“Increasing purchases from the United States, including natural gas, oil, and other essential national energy sources, is not only the next focus of the tariff negotiations between Taiwan and the U.S., but also an important part of Taiwan’s efforts to strengthen its energy autonomy and resilience,” Lai’s office said, as carried by Reuters.

Currently, Taiwan’s imports of LNG from the United States account for about 10% of all its LNG imports.

Earlier this year, Taiwan’s state-held oil and gas company CPC Corporation signed a letter of intent to invest in the $44-billion Alaska LNG export project in the U.S. and buy LNG from it.

But as Taiwan saw firsthand, commitments and contracts to buy more U.S. energy will not necessarily spare any buyer from tariffs.

Taiwan was slapped with a 32% tariff, which has been halted for 90 days, although it had just made big commitments to invest in the U.S., including in U.S. energy projects.

Unfortunately for Taiwan, in any negotiations with deficit-fixated President Trump, the value of its exports to the U.S. – predominantly semiconductors – vastly outstrips the value of the goods it imports from America.

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Source: Oil Price

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