On February 4, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced that, with State Council approval, China will impose additional tariffs on select U.S. imports starting February 10, 2025. The new measures include a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement vehicles, and pickup trucks.
Source: China Energy Net
On February 4, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced that, with State Council approval, China will impose additional tariffs on select U.S. imports starting February 10, 2025. The new measures include a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement vehicles, and pickup trucks. Industry experts widely believe that China’s crude oil and LNG imports from the U.S. lack trade dependency, as the global oil and gas market remains oversupplied, and China has a diverse range of alternative suppliers. As a result, this latest round of U.S.-China trade tensions is expected to redirect U.S. oil and gas exports rather than significantly disrupt China’s energy supply.
According to China’s General Administration of Customs, China imported 9.64 million tons of U.S. crude oil in 2024, accounting for just 1.7% of total crude imports, making the U.S. China’s 11th-largest supplier. Meanwhile, China imported 4.16 million tons of U.S. LNG, representing 5.4% of total LNG imports and ranking the U.S. fifth among China’s LNG suppliers. The total value of these LNG imports reached 17.18 billion yuan, with an average price of approximately 4,131 yuan per ton.
Liu Manping, an energy expert, noted that China primarily imports oil and gas from the Middle East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and Russia, with U.S. energy holding only a marginal share. Given ample global supply, he believes the mutual tariffs will have little direct impact on the global oil and gas market but may serve as a bargaining tool in future trade negotiations.
Guo Haitao, Director of the Institute of Energy Economics and Finance at China University of Petroleum (Beijing), also downplayed the immediate effects. He noted that while some Chinese importers may shift purchases to alternative suppliers, the overall impact will be limited, as U.S. crude oil and LNG make up only a small fraction of China’s total imports.
Feng Haicheng, a natural gas analyst at Sublime China Information, emphasized that China’s three major sources of natural gas supply remain stable, meaning the tariffs on U.S. LNG will have little effect on domestic supply or demand. However, the increased tariffs could raise costs for importers, who may resell cargoes, swap shipments, or pass costs along the supply chain to mitigate risks. In the short term, the impact will primarily affect companies with long-term LNG contracts, while the long-term effects will depend on whether the tariff policies remain in place.