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Trump threatens EU with tariffs over oil and gas imports
PHOTO: AFP
REUTERS
US President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday the European Union should step up US 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 US oil and gas exports, according to US 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 percent of the European Union’s liquefied natural gas imports and 17 percent 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 impose tariffs of 10 percent on global imports into the US along with a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods - duties that trade experts say would upend trade flows, raise costs and draw retaliation against US exports.
The US ran a $208.7-billion goods trade deficit with the EU in 2023, according to US Census Bureau data. Although the US 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 US with few vehicles shipped east across the Atlantic.
German and Italian car exports currently face a 2.5 percent US tariff, which could quadruple if Trump makes good on his threats.
Trump has also vowed to authorise hefty tariffs on the top three US trading partners, Mexico, Canada and China, on his first day in office if they fail to stem illegal border crossings into the US and trafficking of the deadly opioid fentanyl.
William Reinsch, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the EU could negotiate its way out of Trump’s tariffs.
“This could be a win-win, telling them to buy something they want and need anyway,” Reinsch said.
However, most European oil refiners and gas firms are private and governments have little say on where their Reinsch The