US LNG shipments to China ground to a halt

Today’s agenda: US chip production threatened; Raiffeisen’s Russia unit; non-doms’ club memberships; UK illegal sports streaming crackdown; and Yuval Noah Harari on Trump’s vision of the world

Good morning. We begin with an exclusive story on China, where imports of US liquefied natural gas have ceased for more than 10 weeks, according to shipping data that shows how the Sino-American trade war has spread to energy co-operation.

What we know so far: There have been no LNG shipments between the US and China since an LNG tanker from Texas arrived in Fujian province on February 6. China imposed a 15 per cent tariff on US LNG on February 10. The tariff has since increased to 49 per cent, making US gas uneconomic for Chinese buyers for the foreseeable future. 

Why does it matter: The freeze on US LNG is a repeat of a block on imports that lasted for more than a year during President Donald Trump’s first term.

The impact of the stand-off has potentially far-reaching implications, strengthening China’s energy relationship with Russia and raising questions over the huge expansion of multibillion-dollar LNG terminals under way in the US and Mexico. Read Malcolm Moore’s full report.

• Port levies: The Trump administration will begin to impose fees on Chinese-built ships docking in US ports, a move that has alarmed US farmers.

• Canton fair: Buyers and sellers at China’s pre-eminent export show are trying to find ways to evade levies as goods pile up in warehouses.

• US-EU trade: Donald Trump has said there would “100 per cent” be a trade deal with the bloc, as he met Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the White House.

Join Unhedged’s Robert Armstrong and other FT experts on April 23 for a subscriber-only webinar, as they break down how Trump’s policies are reshaping markets. Register for free.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:

• UK: Today marks the start of a four-day strike at Gatwick airport by Unite union members over pay for baggage handlers and flight dispatchers.

• Vatican City: Pope Francis has delegated Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti to preside over the “Passion of the Lord” service to mark Good Friday. On Sunday, Easter Mass will be celebrated before the annual Urbi et Orbi benediction.

• Italy: US vice-president JD Vance travels to Rome.

• US-Iran nuclear talks: US envoy Steve Witkoff is due to hold a second round of talks tomorrow with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, days after calling for Tehran to “eliminate” its nuclear enrichment programme.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. Donald Trump’s global tariff regime is endangering domestic chip production, hampering US dominance in artificial intelligence, industry insiders said, warning that the US president’s escalating trade war may drive up costs for building fabrication plants and AI data centres in the US, hindering the expansion of American computing power.

• Trouble for business: Nvidia’s woes are just one tiny, if highly visible, sign of a far wider wave of impending tech disruption from Trump’s trade wars, writes Gillian Tett.

• Missing the dip: Only a handful of US CEOs made well-timed stock buys during the tariff-induced market panic this month, as trading restrictions forced them on to the sidelines.

2. Exclusive: Raiffeisen Bank International, the largest western bank still doing business in Russia, has halted attempts to sell its unit in the country amid a rapprochement between Washington and Moscow, according to people familiar with the situation.

3. Non-doms who have left the UK are quitting their exclusive private members’ clubs to prevent HM Revenue & Customs thinking they are still resident, and therefore have to pay tax. Read more about how the clubs are dealing with the exodus of internationally mobile clientele.

4. Kyiv and Washington have signed a memorandum of intent pledging to advance an agreement on an investment fund for Ukraine’s natural resources and energy assets, officials told the Financial Times. The officials added that the memorandum had been signed “virtually” and they hoped to finalise the full economic accord as early as the end of next week.

5. The number of people who stream sports or other channels illegally in the UK has gone “through the roof” — straining already-stretched police forces in their efforts to prosecute consumers who flout the law, the head of Britain’s intellectual property crime unit has said. Read the full story.

Interview

Ministers risk curbing “liberty of thought” and stoking culture wars if they slash arts funding as part of their crackdown on quangos — quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations — the chair of Arts Council England has said, adding that the arm’s-length financing of theatre, music and museums helps prevent politicisation. Read on for more of Sir Nicholas Serota’s comments.

We’re also reading . . . 

• A mosaic of fortresses: Trump’s vision of the world is clearly defined — one of post-liberal global disorder, where the weak should always surrender to the strong, writes historian Yuval Noah Harari.

• Wealth taxes: The cash-strapped UK government might find taxing the rich appealing — but imposing a levy that is both fair and effective is fraught with difficulty, writes Philip Coggan.

• Institutional memory: Tim Harford looks at why some organisations are condemned to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Chart of the day

Asda executive chair Allan Leighton last month said the struggling chain was prepared to take a hit to profits this year in order to fund price cuts and reverse a decline in market share. But as a price war looms, rival supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury’s are preparing a fightback.

Take a break from the news

A new wave of indie developers is playing on a quirky sense of UK national identity, featuring flat caps, badgers and lashings of tea. But is there really such a thing as a British game, asks Tom Faber.