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TRUMP PUNTS ON CHINESE TARIFFS AFTER PRESSURE FROM INDUSTRY: President Trump is backing down, for now, on his plan to impose tariffs on China. The move follows protests from the oil industry, as well as others, that the trade protections would have harmed the U.S. economy and jobs.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Trump reserves the right to impose the tariffs if a deal between the two countries does not progress.

Ahead of the decision on Sunday, groups were actively pressing the administration both for and against the trade protections. But the forces against the tariffs, including the American Petroleum Institute, appeared to prevail, at least for now.

• Buy more energy: The White House also announced that China agreed to buy more agriculture and energy from the U.S., with the goal of lowering the U.S. trade deficit.

• Pro tariff camp: One group in favor of the tariffs on Chinese imports told John ahead of Sunday’s decision that it would like the oil industry to take the long view.

“We’re trying to take a long-term view of this, versus the short-term, and it’s hard to get other industries and groups aligned with ignoring the short-term gain for the long-term protection of a U.S. industry,” said Erik Olson, vice president of the Rail Security Alliance, a relatively new trade group focused on the national security implications of federal policies on the rail-freight industry.

Olson said his group’s biggest concern is the encroachment of Chinese companies on the U.S. freight market.

• Harm to the economy: The oil and natural gas industry says it relies on at least 1•50 products imported from China that would cost more because of tariffs, prompting the industry to cut jobs.

• Steel tariffs still in play: But it’s not over for energy industry. While the Trump administration is backing off on its section 301 tariffs on $150 billion in Chinese imports, it hasn’t said it is giving up on its steel and aluminum tariffs.

• Comments: Friday was the deadline to file comments the interim steel tariff regulations. The oil and gas industry asked for relief if the administration moves forward with the section 232 tariffs.

• Need waivers or no go: “U.S. natural gas and oil companies should be granted relief from the tariffs and quotas on imported steel that will harm U.S. businesses, our economy and American consumers,” said Kyle Isakower, the oil group’s vice president for policy.

“Tariffs will raise the cost of imported steel by 25 percent, while quotas will stop U.S. businesses from receiving steel for U.S. energy projects around the country — harming the president’s agenda of continuing our energy renaissance, strengthening our infrastructure and creating U.S. jobs,” he said.

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STATE DEPARTMENT LOOKS FOR NEW ENERGY FIRMS TO SIT ON SANCTIONS PANEL: The State Department is looking to give its sanctions panel under the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy a facelift by dropping the American Petroleum Institute and other major oil companies from its list of advisers.

• Updates: “We’re in the process of updating the subcommittee’s membership, and will also be updating our website to reflect those changes,” a State Department official told John.

• Iran is the reason: The sanctions panel is being overhauled at a time when Trump’s decision to re-up sanctions on Iran could some major effects on energy companies that work in the Persian Gulf nation.

• Concerns raised: A March meeting of the advisers raised concerns about secondary sanctions hurting energy companies.

• Say goodbye: Big oil companies such as Shell and Chevron served on the sanction panel through ast year, along with their trade group, the American Petroleum Institute.

An API official alerted John to change in membership by saying the trade group was no longer on the panel. Shell and Chevron had not answered emails for comment.

The panel develops opinions and recommendations to the undersecretary of state for dconomic growth, energy, and the environment through Assistant Secretary Manisha Singh’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.

SUPREME COURT WILL HEAR VIRGINIA URANIUM MINING CASE: The Supreme Court said Monday it would take up a case on whether to lift a moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia.

• What’s it about: Virginia Mining Inc. v. Warren has to do with the roles of the federal government and the state in two very different activities: mining uranium and processing it.

• Moratorium: Virginia has the federal government’s permission to process uranium, which the state used as a way to place a moratorium on mining in the state.

• Lots of yellow cake: Uranium is plentiful in the state, and Virginia Mining wants a crack at mining it to tap into a lucrative global market for the radioactive fuel.

• What the court will decide: The high court will decide if the state’s federal permit to refine the fuel, granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, pre-empts it from mining it.

FERC WON’T CONSIDER BIG CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS IN PIPELINE REVIEWS: A divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Friday it won’t make broad evaluations about the impact of climate change when it decides whether to approve interstate pipelines.

FERC’s three Republican commissioners issued the surprise ruling as part of an otherwise routine decision on a pipeline upgrade proposed by the utility giant Dominion. The commission approved the Dominion project, which is in western New York.

• Limited by law: FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre and fellow Republicans Robert Powelson and Neil Chatterjee wrote in the majority opinion that the National Environmental Policy Act does not require the commission to consider the upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emission impact in pipeline reviews.

That means it won’t evaluate the effect of greenhouse gas emissions released by the products transported through pipelines and during the production process of the natural gas to be shipped.

• Abrupt change: The two dissenting Democrat commissioners, Richard Glick and Cheryl LaFleur, criticized the ruling, saying the decision changed FERC policy on how it examines greenhouse gas emissions.

AUDUBON BECOMES FIRST WILDLIFE GROUP TO JOIN CARBON CAPTURE GROUP: The Audubon Society became the first wildlife conservation group on Monday to join an industry coalition on developing technology that would make fossil fuels such as coal a low-carbon fuel for electricity.

• Audubon at the table: “The Carbon Capture Coalition is pursuing many avenues — including a market-driven approach that has deep bipartisan support,” said David Yarnold, president and CEO of National Audubon Society. “Audubon is excited to be at the table with a range of voices exploring policy options that accelerate a reduction in carbon pollution.”

• Saving the birds: Yarnold explained that its work on saving bird species is what motivated the group to join, since “the greatest threat to birds and people is climate change.”

• Nonpartisan group: The Carbon Capture Coalition is non-partisan and recently saw success in advocating for a tax credit to help the energy industry build coal and natural gas plants with carbon capture technology, which takes carbon dioxide out of the smokestack and places it underground. The tax credits had wide bipartisan support.

• Oil, coal, and ethanol: Some of the coalition’s members include utility NRG Energy, major oil companies Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Shell, coal giants Peabody Energy and Arch Coal, as well as the ethanol industry and farm groups.

HAWAII FACES NEW HAZARDS FROM VOLCANO: Eruptions from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano eruptions could produce acid fumes as they reach the Pacific Ocean, authorities warned Sunday.

Civil defense notices warned motorists, boaters and beachgoers to beware of plumes of “laze” formed from lava pouring into the ocean on the south coast of Hawaii’s Big Island, according to Reuters.

• ‘Take action’: Reports of toxic sulfur dioxide gas being vented from areas around the volcano had tripled, and residents should “take action necessary to limit further exposure.” Laze is a mix of hydrochloric acid fumes, steam and fine volcanic glass specks created when erupting lava, which can reach 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit when it reacts with ocean water.

“Be aware of the laze hazard and stay away from any ocean plume,” the Hawaii County Civil Defense said, warning that potential hazards include lung damage, and eye and skin irritation.

PRUITT NAMES NEW HEAD OF EPA’S CALIFORNIA OFFICE. The Environmental Protection Agency Friday named Mike Stoker to lead the agency’s Region 9 headquarters based in San Francisco, covering California, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona. He fills the last of the 10 regional posts under the Trump administration.

• Tough fit: The EPA had a tough time filling the Region 9 leadership slot, as the agency is pursuing a deregulation agenda that is fiercely opposed by California’s leaders.

• Trump, GOP loyalist: Stoker is a former GOP Santa Barbara, Calif., supervisor and agricultural industry lawyer who has also represented oil companies. A Trump delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention, Stoker credited himself with starting the “lock her up” chant made famous during the campaign.

He questions climate change science and has criticized lawsuits that California municipalities filed against the oil industry for their role in climate change, telling the Santa Barbara News-Press last year that they ignore “the conflicting evidence about global warming, and as we all know, there is conflicting evidence.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONSIDERING OIL SANCTIONS ON VENEZUELA AFTER MADURO WIN:  The Trump administration is again considering imposing oil sanctions on Venezuela after the re-election of socialist President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday, a result the U.S. did not recognize.

Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told reporters that oil-related sanctions against Venezuela are under “active review.” The U.S. says Maduro has sidelined opponents and made other moves to undermine democracy.

Venezuela’s oil production has suffered a steep fall in recent months, as the country is struggling with massive inflation, unreliable electricity service, and food shortages.  

RUNDOWN

Washington Post EPA’s Pruitt, praised for effectiveness, hits bumps in his rollback campaign

Politico Scalise, Bishop aim for deal to open Florida’s Gulf Coast waters for drilling

Reuters BP back on its feet, but CEO senses no respite

Forbes This clean energy champion is out to break Vietnam’s coal habit

Washington Post A 21st-century Noah’s ark transports animals back to places where they’ve been wiped out