News wire –– U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday the European Union should step up U.S. oil and gas imports or face tariffs on the bloc’s exports that include goods such as cars and machinery.
The EU already buys the lion’s share of U.S. oil and gas exports, according to U.S. government data.
No extra volumes are currently available as the United States is exporting at capacity, but Trump has pledged to further grow the country’s oil and gas production.
“I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large-scale purchase of our oil and gas,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!,” he added.
The European Commission said it was ready to discuss with Trump how to strengthen what it described as an already strong relationship, including in the energy sector.
“The EU is committed to phasing out energy imports from Russia and diversifying our sources of supply,” a spokesperson said.
The United States already supplied 47% of the European Union’s liquefied natural gas imports and 17% of its oil imports in the first quarter of 2024, according to data from EU statistics office Eurostat.
TARIFF THREATS
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has vowed to imose tariffs of 10% on global imports into the U.S. along with a 60% tariff on Chinese goods – duties that trade experts say would upend trade flows, raise costs and draw retaliation against U.S. exports.
The U.S. ran a $208.7-billion goods trade deficit with the EU in 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Although the U.S. runs a surplus with the EU on services, Trump has focused mainly on goods trade, frequently complaining about the bloc’s car exports to the U.S. with few vehicles shipped east across the Atlantic.
– Reuters
