Sign up for the free White House Watch newsletter
Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
US President-elect Donald Trump has warned the EU that it must commit to buying “significant amounts” of US oil and gas or face tariffs.
“I told the European Union that they should make up their huge deficit with the United States by buying a lot of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it's tariffs all the way!!!” Trump wrote on his Social Truth platform on Friday.
Trump's threat follows a move by Brussels to offer to buy more US liquefied natural gas, which has been a lifeline for the bloc after Russia clamped down on fossil fuel supplies following its all-out invasion of Ukraine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in November that the EU you might consider buying extra gas from the US.
“We still get a lot of LNG from Russia and why don't we replace it with American LNG, which is cheaper for us and lowers our energy prices,” he told reporters.
“It seems strange as a 'threat' when von der Leyen mentions the possibility of doing exactly this,” said one EU official.
Trump has threatened tariffs of up to 20 percent on all non-Chinese US goods. Last month, the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, encouraged European political leaders to cooperate with her on tariffs and to buy more products made in the US.
During Trump's first presidency, former European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker promised to buy more US gas to avoid threats of a trade war.
Bruegel-based analysts say the EU should support any offer to buy more American “with a credible threat of retaliation that could be implemented if the US decides to impose tariffs on EU exports”.
International benchmark Brent crude oil prices were down 0.4 percent at $72.61 a barrel on Friday. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 0.4 percent at $69.14 a barrel.