China is proposing a 25 percent tariff on imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas as part of an escalating trade war,  a move that could hinder an emerging industry that is attracting billions of dollars in investment to the the Gulf Coast.

The retaliatory measure, first reported by Bloomberg, was proposed in response to the Trump Administration's recent threat to further increase tariffs on Chinese imports. It’s the first time LNG has been ensnared in the trade war, and comes as Russia plans to begin pumping gas to China through its newly-built 2,500-mile (4,000 kilometer) Power of Siberia pipeline by the end of 2019.

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Billions of U.S. dollars may hang in the balance as Houston companies Cheniere and Tellurian Inc., as well as other developers, court utilities and state-backed companies in China to justify construction of more terminals to ship the super-chilled form of natural gas.