Energy sales to the European Union will be a key issue, US president says

Energy sales to the European Union will be a key issue for the US administration in talks with the EU on a possible reduction in tariffs on European goods. US President Donald Trump said this today, according to news agencies, speaking to reporters at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The president also again accused the EU of not buying enough US goods. „They will have to buy energy from us because they need it,“ Trump said of the European bloc.

Last week, the US president announced tariffs on imports from the vast majority of countries around the world, including the European bloc. Trump calls the tariffs „reciprocal“ and justified them by what he says is these countries’ unfair trade practices toward the US, a claim disputed by many of the countries affected. A blanket 10% tariff on most imports into the US took effect over the weekend, while higher tariffs on several dozen countries, often close US allies, will take effect on Wednesday.

„The European Union treats us very badly,“ Trump told reporters at the White House today.

A 20% tariff on imports from the EU is due to take effect, while 25% duties on imports of steel and aluminium have been in force since mid-March.

The Trump administration is apparently seeking to use tariffs to eliminate the deficit the United States runs in trade with a number of countries around the world. To the surprise of many experts, it based the level of the newly introduced tariffs on the size of those deficits. „They can buy it (energy), and we can bring that down by $350 billion in a week,“ Trump said today, according to news agencies.

The European Commission is ready to negotiate with the US on zero industrial tariffs and zero tariff barriers for cars, Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said today in Luxembourg. Any deal reached, however, must be acceptable to both sides, he said.

Since the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the European Union has sought to diversify its energy sources, and imports such as liquefied natural gas from the US are often cited as one option. In January, almost all US LNG exports were already heading to the EU. Nearly nine out of every ten cargoes that left the US were bound for Europe, financial services company LSEG said in early February, citing preliminary data.