Industrial Consumer Group Urges Pause on Further LNG Exports
The Industrial Energy Consumers of America have sent a letter to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry requesting, among other things, “a moratorium on further LNG export approvals until the definition of ‘public interest’ is fully explored, vetted, and agreed upon.” The letter alleges that recent LNG policy positions and claims made by the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas are “misleading and their [sic] position on accelerating LNG exports is inconsistent with President Trump’s ‘America First’ pledge and the desire to build a sustainable manufacturing sector with growing middle class jobs.” The letter also requests that DOE “establish a national LNG export policy that is consistent with the Trump Administration’s fair-trade policy,” claiming that “[s]hipping LNG to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the U.S. is inconsistent with fair trade and reduces the Administration’s negotiating leverage and rewards these countries.”