China cuts US gas imports in trade fight

China has dramatically cut its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports from the United States amid the countries’ escalating trade dispute, traders and analysts told Reuters Tuesday.

{mosads}China purchased 3.6 million tons of LPG, used in petrochemicals, cooking, transport and heating, from the U.S. in 2017.

Those 2017 numbers made the U.S. China’s second largest source of LPG, but throughout the first eight months of 2018 only one million tons have been imported, according to IHS Markit, a consulting group.

He Yanyu, IHS Markit executive director for natural gas liquids, told Reuters the figure is down from 2.1 million tons over the same period of 2017.

LPG imports stalled completely in August after China imposed 25 percent tariffs on 300 new U.S. products, including the gas.

The two nations have exchanged billions in tariffs in an escalating trade war.

China is expected to fill the U.S. LPG gap by increasing imports from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, analysts tell Reuters.