The oil and natural gas industry continues to be hit by the ongoing U.S.-China trade war. Oil prices slipped to their lowest levels in over a month on Tuesday amid renewed doubts over U.S.-China trade progress after President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs to 25% on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods Friday.
“We’ve very concerned about the tariff situation… the Chinese have already put a 15% tariff on United States LNG, and the consequence of that is we’re losing market share in Asia,” American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Mike Sommers told Yahoo Finance On the Move. “If we want to gain that market share back, we need to get those tariffs off as quickly as possible.”
Despite this, Sommers said he believes “the president is right” in regard to the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China, stating: “they [China] have been an unfair trade partner for many years.”
According to the API, the U.S. oil & NGL hit a record in the first quarter of this year, hitting production of 12.1 million barrels per day (mb/d). U.S. petroleum net imports have fallen to their lowest levels in more than 50 years. To maximize increased productivity in the U.S., Sommers states it is necessary to gain back market share in Asia.
In addition to Asian markets, “we’re also concerned about the tariffs and quotas that have been put into place because of disputes with Canada and Mexico,” Sommers said. “This is an integrated trade market in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and we need to make sure those markets are open.”
Taylor Locke is a producer for Yahoo Finance On the Move.
