China has been importing LNG from the US-sanctioned Russian Arctic LNG 2 project into its Beihai terminal — a small southern port with little international connections — since August, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The move is an attempt to bypass retaliations similar to those imposed on India by the US last month. The acquisition is done through an undisclosed small firm, making the end consumer harder to track, the sources told the outlet. A third Russian fuel shipment was reportedly scheduled to arrive in China yesterday — with more four more vessels currently en route to Beihai.

Not everyone’s on board: China National Offshore Oil Corporation and other unnamed Chinese importers and foreign traders are steering clear of Beihai — rerouting normal shipments elsewhere to avoid US sanctions, according to the news outlet.

This has been going on for a while: Chinese refiners have increased purchases of Russiancrude, taking advantage of reduced-price cargoes dropped by India due to US tariff pressures. The US imposed a 50% tariff on India as punishment for its Russian crude imports late last month.

That’s not all: The EU is mulling over a new sanctions package to possibly impose sanctions on China and other countries if they purchase Russian oil and gas, Financial Times reports. A delegation from the bloc was also expected to travel to the US yesterday, to discuss sanctions on Russia with US Treasury Department officials.

Parcel shipments to the US fell by over 80% since de minimis duty exemptions were suspended last month — affecting small packages worth USD 800 or less entering the country, AP News reported on Saturday, citing the United Nations’ Universal Postal Union (UPU). The drop prompted the UPU to implement solutions to help postal operators resume normal service, including calculating and collecting duties from customers. So far, at least 30 countries have suspended their parcel shipments to the US since exemptions were scrapped.

REFRESHER- De minimis is a term referring to matters too small to concern the courts and whose impact is arguably negligible. The Latin phrase directly translates to "the law does not concern itself with trifles.”

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