The EU is ready to discuss further strengthening economic ties with US President-elect Donald Trump, including common interests in the energy sector, an EU spokesman said on Friday. He added that the EU had also committed to phasing out energy imports from Russia and diversifying sources of supply, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Trump said the European Union could face tariffs if it did not reduce its growing deficit with the United States by making major oil and gas deals with the world's largest economy.
The EU already buys a large share of US oil and gas exports, according to US government data. However, there is currently no additional supply available unless the United States increases its production or supplies are diverted from Asia, which is also a major consumer of US energy resources.
"I told the European Union that they must make up for their huge deficit with the United States by buying our oil and gas on a large scale," Trump said in a post shared on his Truth Social network. "Otherwise there will be TARIFFS all the way!!!" he added.
The European Commission said it was ready to discuss with the president-elect how to strengthen the already strong relationship between the EU and the US, including in the energy sector. "The EU is committed to gradually phasing out energy imports from Russia and diversifying our sources of supply," a Commission spokesman said.
The United States already provided 47% of the European Union's liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and 17% of its oil imports in the first quarter of 2024, according to data from the EU's statistics office Eurostat.
Trump has vowed to impose tariffs on most, if not all, imports and said Europe will pay a heavy price for running a large trade surplus with the US over the past decades. Trump has repeatedly highlighted the US trade deficit in goods, but not trade as a whole.
Last year, the US had a deficit in goods trade with the EU of 155.8 billion euros ($161.9 billion). However, the US had a surplus of 104 billion euros in services, Eurostat data showed.
Trump, who takes office on January 20, has already promised high tariffs on three of the US's biggest trading partners - Canada, Mexico and China.
Most European oil refineries and gas companies are privately owned, and governments have no say in the origin of their purchases unless they impose sanctions or tariffs. Owners typically buy their resources based on price and efficiency.
The EU has significantly increased its purchases of oil and gas from the US following the bloc's decision to impose sanctions and reduce its dependence on Russian energy following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The United States has been the world's largest oil producer in recent years, producing more than 20 million barrels per day of petroleum liquids, or a fifth of global demand. U.S. crude oil exports to Europe total more than two million barrels per day, accounting for more than half of total U.S. exports, with the remainder going to Asia. The Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, and Sweden are among the largest importers, according to U.S. government data.
The United States is also the world's largest producer and consumer of gas, with production of more than 103 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd).