LNG trade group says impossible to follow Trump rules on Chinese ships

The trade group for the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry is pushing back against the Trump administration's new rules that would impose fees on Chinese-built ships docking at American ports, arguing the sector cannot comply with mandates to use U.S. transport vessels.

In recent lobbying letters to the administration, the American Petroleum Institute (API) argued the policy would spike shipping costs, destabilize exports and jeopardize the U.S.'s global LNG leadership, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the letters' contents.

The rules, published on April 17 by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, are part of a series of President Donald Trump's protectionist policies he deems key to reviving domestic manufacturing. China has blasted the rules as counterproductive and self-harming.

The API insisted that it is impossible for LNG producers to adhere to the rules, even as the LNG sector secured a three-year delay and a 22-year phase-in period for compliance, according to the report.

No U.S.-built LNG carriers currently exist and domestic shipyards lack capacity to build them by the deadline of 2029, the API noted.