The British leadership hopes to avoid the tariffs imposed by the new US President Donald Trump by increasing imports of American gas and weapons. This was reported by the European publication Politico, citing its sources.
According to their information, the British authorities intend to avoid being drawn into a “global trade war“ that Trump may unleash. Amid the threats of the American leader to impose import duties on the EU, London has been "thinking about how to avoid the same blow" for several months. One of the options discussed by the British authorities was to increase the volume of gas and weapons imports from the United States.
“We will have to get gas from somewhere, as its production in the North Sea is decreasing“, commented on the situation former head of the British Ministry of Energy Quasi Kwarteng. As gas reserves off the coast of Britain are decreasing, he said, it would be "natural" for the United States to see an increase in energy imports. due to a lack of alternatives. The publication recalls that Trump, answering a question about how Europe can avoid the introduction of tariffs, mentioned purchases of American oil and gas.
Politico sources believe that such a "deal" between Washington and London is possible, analysts also admit. “Trump wants the UK and other European countries to increase their energy purchases from the US and this can be used as a bargaining chip“, said Maxime Darme, senior economist at insurance company Allianz Trade. At the same time, the publication notes that increasing gas imports from the US will cause a negative reaction from environmentalists and representatives of the extractive industry in the North Sea region.
Against this background, the interlocutors of the publication note that the word “deal“ may refer not only to the purchase of gas, but also to the import of defense equipment from the UK, in particular to an increase in the number of orders for American F-35 fighter jets. According to sources of the newspaper, the increase in the purchase of these aircraft is being discussed as part of the “review of the defense strategy”. Great Britain. Meanwhile, according to Politico, London has ordered only 48 fighter jets from the US so far, although it plans to import 138 aircraft in 2015.
The UK and the EU fear a sharp increase in tariffs on European goods imported into the US after Trump took office as US president. He has previously stated several times that he would take such a step if Europe does not increase its purchases of oil and gas from the US. According to the American leader, he has made it clear to EU countries that they must "fill the huge deficit" in trade relations with the US, otherwise they will face "the full range of tariffs".