After Targeting U.S. Farms, China Can Strike America's Shale
- Proposed Chinese tariff targets included some petrochemicals
- Energy markets seen rattled if China restricts U.S. crude, LNG
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China’s tariffs in one corner of the energy market signal U.S. shale fields may follow the nation’s farms as a target if a trade war escalates.
Beijing on Wednesday took aim at America’s rural heartland by proposing levies on politically sensitive farm commodities such as soybeans, which were among 106 U.S. products targeted. The list also included petrochemicals and liquefied propane, indicating that the world’s biggest oil buyer is willing to use energy as a weapon to retaliate against planned American duties on its high-tech goods.