Beijing
Plains All American Pipeline said it will tack on a fee for users of a new oil pipeline to pay for the cost of the Trump administration’s imported steel tariffs, becoming the first US operator to do so. In addition to steel levies announced last year, President Donald Trump said on Thursday he plans to expand US tariffs to $300 billion of Chinese imports in a trade dispute that has increased costs for US consumers on everything from steel to electronics. Houston-based Plains will begin charging shippers a 5 cents per barrel fee on its 670,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Cactus II pipeline next April to offset higher construction costs from “governmental regulation and tariffs,” according to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Plains last year estimated the 25 percent steel tariff would add $40 million to its costs for the $1.1 billion pipeline, which runs 550 miles (885 kilometers) from the Permian basin of West Texas and New Mexico to the US Gulf Coast. The Trump administration last year imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to shield US producers and jobs from overseas competition.—Arab News