Trump tells the European Union to buy American oil and gas or face tariffs

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US President-elect Donald Trump has warned the European Union that it must commit to purchasing “large-scale” amounts of US oil and gas or face tariffs.

“I’ve told the EU that they must make up their massive deficit with the US by massively purchasing our oil and gas. Otherwise it’s tariffs all the way!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.

Trump’s threat follows overtures already made by Brussels to offer to buy more US liquefied natural gas, which has been a lifeline for the bloc after Russia curtailed fossil fuel supplies following its large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in November European Union You will consider purchasing more gas from the United States.

“We still get a lot of LNG from Russia, so why not replace it with American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices,” she told reporters.

“It sounds strange as a threat given that von der Leyen hinted at the possibility of doing precisely that,” one EU official noted.

Trump threatened to impose a comprehensive tariff of up to 20% on all non-Chinese American imports. Last month, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde urged Europe’s political leaders to cooperate with him on tariffs and buying more products made in the United States.

During Trump’s first presidency, then-European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker offered to buy more US gas to stem trade war threats.

Analysts at Brussels-based think tank Brugel said the EU should back any offers to buy more US products “with a credible threat of retaliation that could be carried out if the US decides to impose tariffs on EU exports.”

Prices of Brent crude oil, the global oil standard, fell 0.4 percent to $72.61 per barrel on Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.4 percent to $69.14 per barrel.