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.
Taiwan wasn’t spared from one of the highest now-suspended tariffs despite being the only early committed investor in the huge Alaska LNG project, while Japan and South Korea are hesitating.
Taiwan is not the only Asian country looking to negotiate its way out of hefty U.S. tariffs.
Most Asian countries are racing to pledge increased imports of U.S. energy to avoid the high tariffs slapped on them in early April. Delegations from many Asian countries are heading to Washington D.C. these days to discuss the U.S. tariffs, which are the highest for economies in Asia and Southeast Asia.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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