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(Officially corrects in paragraph 3 that Perry was talkingabout leverage around the globe, not China, regarding U.S.nuclear power technology)
By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - Rapidly expanding exportsof U.S. fossil fuels, including liquefied natural gas (LNG),serve as leverage in trade negotiations with China, EnergySecretary Rick Perry said on Monday.
"It's part of the mix, it may not be the driver, but it'salways hanging out there as part of the matrix," Perry said inan interview on CNBC. "America now has the ability to use thatin a very positive way when it comes to trade negotiations."
When asked if U.S. energy was a lever in the talks, Perrysaid, "Yeah, sure it is." In addition, Perry said Washington canalso use advanced U.S. technology on renewable energy and smallmodular nuclear reactors as leverage around the globe.
The United States is the world's fastest-growing exporter ofLNG and China is the fastest-growing importer of the fuel.Natural gas emits far less unhealthy pollution and carbondioxide, the main greenhouse gas, when burned.
While the U.S. LNG business is booming, shipments arecontrolled by private companies. Perry did not explain howleverage could be used, but the Trump administration couldconceivably prolong tariffs or take other measures if China, orother major buyers, place tariffs on U.S. oil or LNG exports orenergy technology.
The governments of the world's two largest economies havebeen locked in a tariff battle for months as Washington pressesBeijing to address long-standing concerns over Chinese practicesand policies around technology transfers, market access andintellectual property rights.
The countries are working to achieve a trade deal thatmatches the interests of both sides and the hopes of the world,including eliminating tit-for-tat tariffs, a senior Chineseofficial said over the weekend.
China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, known as Sinopec, plans to sign a 20-year LNG supply agreement withCheniere Energy once China and the United States end thedispute, sources said this month. The deal could beworth roughly $16 billion.
Still, the trade war contributed to a 20 percent fall inU.S. LNG shipments to China last year from the previous year.The shipments also slipped on weak demand for heating amid mildwinter weather.
That does not erode Perry's confidence about China's hungerfor U.S. LNG, even if all of the more than a dozen U.S. LNGprojects being developed were completed.
"As we look at India, as we look at China, these massiveeconomies, we probably need more projects than we've got on thebooks today to be able to meet that demand," Perry said.
Last month the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, orFERC, approved Venture Global LNG Inc's Calcasieu Pass LNGexport plant in Louisiana. The company said it had binding20-year sale and purchase agreements with Royal Dutch Shell Plcand BP.(Reporting by Timothy Gardner in WashingtonEditing by James Dalgleish)
