U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday that the European Union may face tariffs if the bloc does not cut its growing deficit with the United States by making large oil and gas trades with the world’s largest economy.
The EU is already buying the lion’s share of U.S. oil and gas exports, according to U.S. government data, and no additional volumes are currently available unless the United States increases output or volumes are re-routed from Asia – another big consumer of U.S. energy.
“I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas,” Trump said in a post, opens new tab on Truth Social.
“Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!,” he added.
Reuters states that the European Commission wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Trump has vowed to impose tariffs on most if not all imports, and said Europe would pay a heavy price for having run a large trade surplus with the U.S. for decades.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has already pledged hefty tariffs on three of the United States’ largest trading partners – Canada, Mexico and China.
Most European oil refiners and gas firms are private and the governments have no say on where the purchases are coming from unless authorities impose sanctions or tariffs. The owners usually buy their resources based on price and efficiency.
The EU has steeply increased purchases of U.S. oil and gas following the block’s decision to impose sanctions and cut reliance on Russian energy after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.
