US Targets Niche Gas That China Can’t Replace as Trade War Chip

The US is using its dominance of a niche petroleum gas as a bargaining chip in its trade war with China.

America supplies China with almost all of its ethane, a product of the shale boom that’s used as a building block for making plastics. But the commerce department is now ordering shippers to apply for export licenses, and has told at least one, Enterprise Products Partners LP, that it intends to withhold permits for three China-bound cargoes.

The trade war is throwing a spotlight on how the US and China rely on each other for certain commodities — ...