Trump urges EU to boost US energy imports or face tariffs

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said that the European Union, already the biggest buyer of U.S. energy, 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.

According to U.S. government data, the EU already buys the lion's share of U.S. oil and gas exports.
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 LNG imports and 17% of its oil imports in the first quarter of 2024, according to data from EU statistics office Eurostat.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has vowed to impose tariffs on most if not all imports, and has said Europe would pay a heavy price for having run a large trade surplus with the U.S. for decades.

Trump has repeatedly highlighted the U.S. trade deficit for goods, but not trade as a whole. EU exports are dominated by Germany with key goods being cars, machinery and chemicals.

The U.S. had a goods trade deficit with the EU of 155.8 billion euros ($161.9 billion) last year. However, in services it had a surplus of 104 billion euros, Eurostat data shows.

Trump has already pledged hefty tariffs on three of the United States' largest trading partners - Canada, Mexico and China.

Most European oil refiners and gas firms are private and the governments have little say on where their purchases are coming from unless authorities impose sanctions or tariffs. The owners usually buy their resources based on price and efficiencies.

The EU has steeply increased purchases of U.S. oil and gas following the block's decision to impose sanctions and cut reliance on Russian energy after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The United States has grown to become the largest oil producer in recent years with output of over 20 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil liquids or a fifth of global demand. It exports all the crude it cannot consume at home.

U.S. crude exports to Europe stand at around two million bpd, representing over half of U.S. total exports with the rest going to Asia.

The Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, and Sweden are the biggest importers, according to the U.S. government data.