The United States has asked Denmark and other European countries to export eggs as Americans face soaring egg prices, the Scandinavian country's egg association said on Friday, The Guardian reported, quoted by FOKUS.
The request from the US Department of Agriculture coincides with a series of new US tariffs on countries, including in Europe, and the threat of new ones.
Donald Trump has also threatened economic sanctions unless Denmark hands over control of Greenland to the US, and said this week that he believes the US will eventually annex it – despite its status as an autonomous territory of Denmark, a member of the European Union.
Wholesale egg prices in the United States have been hitting record highs due to factors including the bird flu outbreak.
Trump promised to reduce egg prices on his first day in office, but prices rose 59% year-on-year in February, the first full month of his administration.
The request from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) comes after Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the EU and threatened to impose 200% levies on European alcoholic beverages, Express.co.uk reported.
A letter reviewed by Reuters shows that a U.S. Department of Agriculture representative in Europe sent formal inquiries to egg-producing countries in late February, seeking information about their ability and willingness to export eggs to the U.S. market.
"We are still waiting to hear back more guidance from Washington on next steps, but do you have an estimate of the number of eggs that could be shipped to the United States (assuming they meet all import requirements),” a follow-up letter to the Danish Egg Association said in early March.
"Washington is trying to get a rough estimate of the amount they could source", the letter, received last week, said.
The Danish Egg Association said it would look into this, but that there was no surplus of eggs in Europe.
"There is a shortage of eggs everywhere globally because consumption is increasing and many are affected by bird flu," it added.
A spokesman said the association had asked for more details on the terms of such an agreement, stressing that exporting eggs to the United States was challenging due to hygiene regulations and other factors.
Turkey announced in February that it had begun exporting about 15,000 tons of eggs to the United States.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced last month a plan to seek imported eggs as part of a $1 billion effort to combat bird flu.