Trump’s tariffs alarm energy industry

President Trump’s announcement Thursday that he would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports is not receiving a warm reception from the oil and natural gas industry, which raised concerns that his proposal would raise costs and stifle economic growth. “The actions taken today are inconsistent with the administration’s goal of continuing the energy renaissance and building world-class infrastructure," Jack Gerard, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, said after Trump said he would impose 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum. “We are concerned that the administration's plan to impose tariffs on steel could have the unintended effect of endangering much-needed U.S. LNG export projects," said Charlie Riedl, executive director of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas. Energy exports are key part of Trump energy dominance agenda. "The administration had taken meaningful steps to improve the current permit review process for natural gas infrastructure and it would be unfortunate if their steel tariffs created new and different barriers to projects,” Riedl said...more