President-elect Donald Trump has warned the European Union that he will impose tariffs unless they agree to significantly increase their purchases of US oil and gas. This threat came just hours after Trump warned the BRICS nations of severe sanctions if they attempted to challenge the US dollar.
The US president elect, who will assume office in January, announced his decision via a post on TRuth Social (a social media platform).
“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. Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!” he wrote.
According to US government data, the EU already accounts for the majority of US oil and gas exports. However, additional supplies are not currently available unless the US increases production or redirects shipments from Asia, another major consumer of US energy.
Eurostat data shows that in the first quarter of 2024, the US provided 47 percent of the EU’s LNG imports and 17 percent of its oil imports. The US has become the world’s largest oil producer in recent years, with daily output exceeding 20 million barrels, or about a fifth of global demand.
The European Commission has expressed its willingness to engage with Trump to further strengthen the strong US-EU relationship, particularly in the energy sector. “The EU is committed to phasing out energy imports from Russia and diversifying our sources of supply,” a spokesperson said.
US crude exports to Europe stand at over two million bpd representing over a half of US total exports with the rest going to Asia, as per a Reuters report. The Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Sweden are the biggest importers, according to the US government data, it added.
Trump has vowed to impose tariffs on most, if not all, imports and emphasised that Europe would bear the consequences for running a large trade surplus with the US for decades. He has frequently criticised the US trade deficit, particularly in goods, though not overall trade balances.
Earlier, the US President-elect warned the BRICS nations of a 100 percent tariff if they attempted to replace the US dollar with another currency. He also demanded that they refrain from creating a new BRICS currency or backing any alternative currency against the dollar.