The US position of using tariffs as a commercial negotiating tool appears to be bearing fruit in places, with Taiwan considering tripling US LNG imports to avoid tariffs.
Minister of Economic Affairs Kuo Jyh-huei said Taiwan is also exploring opportunities to join Alaska’s LNG extraction project, with investments capped at 50%.
The project, authorised during President Trump’s first term and re-authorised by President Biden, features the construction of a 1,300-km pipeline to transport natural gas from northern Alaska to the southern part of the state for liquefaction, before being shipped to Asian markets.
Source: Alaska Gasline Development Corporation
A new Executive Order, “Unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resources potential”, was issued in January to prioritise the development, sale and transportation of Alaska LNG to other regions in the US and allied nations in the Asia-Pacific.
According to Taiwan’s 2024 statistics, total LNG import volumes reached 21bn kilos with 38% from Australia, Taiwan’s largest supplier, followed by Qatar and the US, which supplies around 10%.
Another reason why Taiwan is turning more to LNG is due to its last nuclear power reactor being set to close on 17 May.
Shipping natural gas from the US used to be a lengthy process but the transit time from Alaska to Taiwan has now been reduced to 10 days.
It is clear already that energy is a crucial bargaining chip for the US when it comes to President Trump’s roll-out of widespread tariffs on imported goods.
One upshot for countries and companies that now face an extra barrier to US trade is that some could end up buying more US oil and gas to placate the administration.
