The newly re-elected president of the United States, Donald Trumpreturns to threaten the European Union with duties. The provocation is about the purchase of oil and gas: if member countries do not start buying more oil and gas from the United States, there will be consequences. The threat comes as Europe is trying to avoid a trade war with the US and deal with growing pressure on the energy front. The implications of these declarations are serious, especially for the already delicate global economic situation.
More threats of tariffs from Trump
Donald Trump used his social network Truth to issue a warning to the European Union. In a direct statement, he threatened tariffs “all the way” if the EU does not start to compensate for its huge trade deficit with the United States. The proposal mainly concerns the large-scale purchase of petrolium And gas Americans, strategic resources that could benefit the US economy.
The United States is the world’s largest producer of crude oil and the leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). At the moment Europe represents one of the main destinations for American LNGwith over half of deliveries going to the continent. Donald Trump has “asked” the EU to increase purchases of liquid gas from the United States. EU officials have already considered this possibility, seeing the purchase of more American LNG as a useful solution to reduce dependence on Russia.
The EU needs alternative energy sources, especially following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In fact, the invasion put European countries that were heavily dependent on the Russian gas. In this context, the LNG of the United States has become a strategic asset for Europe.
Despite the difficulties associated with LNG production in the United States, Trump seems determined to push Europe towards a greater purchase of American energy resources. The question concerns not only thegas and oil supplybut also global trade policy and transatlantic relations.
The EU is prepared to face the trade war
THE’European Union is preparing for a possible trade war with the United States. Despite the difficulties, European officials are determined to avoid a situation that could damage both economies. The EU has already warned that it will not accept threats of tariffs and that it will respond appropriately.
The German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock declared: “If the new American administration pursues an ‘America First’ policy, our response will be ‘United Europe’”. The message aims to underline the desire to act in a compact manner, without giving in to external pressures.
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has proposed increasing the purchase of LNG from the United States to lower energy prices and replace the consumption of Russian gas by the 27 bloc. Despite the intention, Europe faces the difficulty of obtaining more LNG. In fact, American production capacity is not sufficient to satisfy the growing demand from the EU. Furthermore, the United States faces logistical and infrastructure challenges to expand its LNG production and secure its export to Europe. In other words, as he also recalls Kaja KallasTrump’s threats they fall into the voidbecause “there are no winners in trade wars”. And again:
The facts are that the EU and the US have deeply integrated economies. We are ready to argue with Donald Trump on how we can strengthen our cooperation, including in the energy sector. There is already a high level of complementarity in trade relations between the EU and the US
