The hope of China resuming imports of US oil this month after the reduction in the tariff on US crude imports from 5.0 to 2.5 as part of the phase-one US-China trade deal has been dashed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in China. Traders and shipbrokers both expect Europe to be the main outlet for US crude cargoes that were destined for China over the next two months. One trader remarked, "The US has to divert barrels away from China and is now dumping everything in Europe." A number of firms, including ExxonMobil Corp., Lukoil, PetroChina, Trafigura, and Vitol, are all currently looking to move US crude cargoes from the US Gulf Coast to Europe.
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