The European Union plans to reduce purchases of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) in an attempt to reduce overall import costs, despite pressure from Washington, Politico newspaper reported, citing its sources.
The move, according to the publication, is a blow to the White House's demands that "the end of the trade war be conditioned by large purchases of liquefied natural gas / LNG / from the European Union" worth up to $ 350 billion to eliminate the imbalance in transatlantic trade.
The campaign to "limit the growth of gas purchases" and more flexible filling of underground gas storage facilities is led by seven countries - France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Netherlands. They are advocating a reduction in the target for storage capacity from 90% to 80%, noting that current requirements "oblige the EU to buy very large quantities of gas, mainly from the US, at the highest price," the publication said.
“In these turbulent times and against the backdrop of the ongoing struggle for competitiveness, the best solution would be to show more flexibility than simply sticking to the current targets“, Lithuanian Energy Minister Žigimantas Vaičiūnas told the publication. Reduced industrial demand “could be one of the potential consequences” from Trump's tariffs, which objectively makes it harder for the EU to buy more liquefied gas from the US, he added.
As previously reported, talks between the EU and the US on increasing purchases of US LNG have not yielded results. According to EU officials and diplomats, "the talks have not progressed". Brussels, trying to work on US President Donald Trump's proposal on energy resources and reducing supplies of liquefied natural gas from Russia, "has often run into a wall of bureaucracy and indifference in Washington", they noted.
Complicating matters, the US administration prefers to deal directly with individual EU countries, even though Brussels plays a key role in the 27-member bloc's trade policies, a diplomat said.