Trump: "EU Must Buy US Oil and Gas... Tariffs Will Be Imposed If Not Complied"

President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to significantly increase tariffs if the European Union (EU) does not make large-scale purchases of American oil and gas. The EU, eager to avoid trade conflicts with the United States, is deeply concerned.

On the morning of the 20th (local time), President-elect Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social, "I told the European Union that they must purchase our (America's) oil and gas on a large scale to compensate for the massive (US-EU trade) deficit." He added, "If they don't do this, I will impose tariffs until the end!!!" emphasizing his point with exclamation marks (!). The word 'TARIFFS' was also written in all capital letters.

Trump's tariff threat came after the EU had already expressed its intention to expand cooperation with the second Trump administration, including in the energy sector. Olaf Scholz, the EU Commission's trade spokesperson, stated in a regular briefing that "EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already expressed her intention to build a constructive partnership with the next US administration, including on energy issues."

Last month, on the 8th, President von der Leyen told reporters, "In a call with President-elect Trump, I proposed expanding imports of American liquefied natural gas (LNG)," adding, "Replacing Russian imports with American ones could be cheaper for us and lower energy prices."

From the perspective of Europe, which is already highly dependent on American energy, Trump's demands may seem excessive. The United States is the EU's largest oil and gas supplier. During the first half of this year, the US supplied about 48% of the EU's LNG imports, while Russia's share was only 16%. According to Eurostat, the US accounted for 15% of the EU's oil imports in the third quarter.

Spokesperson Scholz pointed out that the trade balance between the two sides is 'mutually complementary' in response to Trump's trade deficit claims. He said, "While the EU records a surplus in the goods sector, the US sees a surplus in the services sector," adding, "This is not always reflected in the posts mentioned by Trump." Last year, the US recorded a goods trade deficit of 158.8 billion euros with the EU, but a surplus of 104 billion euros in the services sector.

The Financial Times (FT) reported, "If Trump pushes for tariff imposition, EU officials will begin preparing potential trade retaliation measures," but also noted, "Considering other sectors highly dependent on the US, such as the defense industry, there is a strong desire to avoid escalating economic conflicts with the US government."

There are also predictions that even if Europe tries to increase imports of American energy, the US's energy capacity will not be able to support it. Florence Schmitt, an energy strategist at Rabobank, explained, "The key issue is that the US currently does not have spare LNG capacity to send to Europe," adding, "To secure more LNG, Europe would have to compete with Asian countries and offer higher prices."

Reporter Han Gyeong-je