The European Union plans to renew negotiations with the US to expand imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in order to avoid the re-imposition of trade tariffs, the European publication Politico reported, citing its sources.
“This proposal has been under consideration for some time, but we hope that now there will be an opportunity to make progress“, the publication quoted an unnamed EU diplomat as saying.
According to Politico, the EU is looking for ways to increase the overall demand for liquefied natural gas in the community during the freeze on tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, which would allow the EU to make larger orders in the United States. It is noted that the community had previously tried to draw the attention of the owner of the White House to this idea, but Washington was not interested in it. EU officials hope that now, amid the collapse of markets, such a deal will be beneficial for the US administration.
However, the main obstacle to a possible deal remains the price of American LNG. EU countries believe that rushing to reach an agreement with the United States during a freeze on tariffs will lead to higher energy prices. It also remains unclear how well the scheme for aggregating demand for European companies will work. A similar approach was used in 2022, after the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict, but only a few companies were involved then.
European Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen earlier admitted that the EU's campaign to abandon Russian fuel is failing and that Europe needs overseas energy resources. He expressed hope that Brussels and Washington "will continue to be" partners.