Tariff exemption for Corinth Pipeworks delivery?
Major US energy companies including Plains All American Pipeline, Hess Corp and Kinder Morgan Inc are among many seeking exemptions from steel-import tariffs as the United States ratchets up trade tensions with exporters including China, Canada and Mexico.
There have been nearly 21,000 requests overall for exclusions submitted to the US Commerce Department since the Trump administration imposed levies this year.
Of those, more than 500 petitions involve pipes and related materials. Plains sought a tariff exclusion for its 500-mile Cactus II oil pipeline, which will connect West Texas oil fields to export docks near Corpus Christi, Texas.
This month, it expects to receive its first material from Corinth Pipeworks SA, a Greek manufacturer, according to a Commerce Department filing.
No US mills can produce pipe with the specifications needed for Plains’ line.
Only three mills in the world make such pipe, and delivery delays could exacerbate constraints, the company wrote in its petition, affecting the price of oil from the largest US oilfield. [Reuters]
