APAC Energy Buzz: US-China trade deal flatters to deceive

After months of negotiation, the US and China signed a Phase One trade agreement on 15 January. The deal represents a truce in the trade dispute, but much uncertainty still lies ahead. For the US energy industry, of greatest importance is China’s pledge to increase energy imports from the US by $52.4 billion over the next two years. Despite a lack of detail, this is encouraging. Prior to the trade dispute, US energy exports to China were skyrocketing, increasing from around $2 billion in 2016 to over $8 billion in 2018. The trade conflict saw this number fall by more than half last year. But while committing to ‘ensure’ this increase, China’s continuing radio silence on future tariff removal for US energy imports remains the most obvious obstacle to an increase in energy trade.