President-elect Donald Trump is still months away from taking office, but the European Union already appears eager to strike a deal with him.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission,
dealt with European Council members in Budapest, Hungary, on Friday said they want to avoid a trade war with the United States and switch from Russian gas to American gas.
Asked how he plans to negotiate with Trump on trade, Leyen said: “The first thing I'm thinking about is getting involved. What we started yesterday is very important.”
Ryen mentioned a phone call he had with Trump on Thursday, in which he appeared to congratulate Trump on his landslide election victory. german politician
noticed At X, they reportedly discussed defense, Ukraine, trade and energy.
“Secondly, we talk about common interests. And we have common interests,” Ryen continued. “Then let's start negotiations.”
“They will have to pay a heavy price.”
Lien said liquid natural gas was one common interest he briefly discussed with President Trump this week, noting that Europe still gets “a lot of LNG from Russia through Russia.”
According to According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, in the first half of 2024, Europe will import 48% of its LNG from the United States, 16% from Russia, 11% from Algeria, 10% from Qatar, and 4% from Nigeria and Norway. It was procured from. .
“Why not replace it with LNG from the U.S., which is cheaper for us and leads to lower energy prices,” Lyen said. “It's also something we can participate in the discussion about. [where] Our trade deficit is a concern. ”
The US Census Bureau showed on Tuesday that the trade deficit with the EU was $23.8 billion in September, contributing to the year-to-date trade deficit.
$173 billion.
President Trump suggested in October that the EU “will have to pay a heavy price” for not buying enough U.S. exports.
reported Reuters.
“I'll tell you, the European Union is so wonderful and wonderful, isn't it? It's all these wonderful little European countries,” President Trump said. “They don't take our cars. They don't take our crops. They sell millions of cars in the United States. No, no, no, they take a big price. You will have to pay.”
politiko
noticed Mr. Ryen's maneuver to avoid high tariffs of more than 10% that President Trump threatened by promising to buy LNG shows that the European Commission is effectively powerless when it comes to deciding on European companies' gas purchases. Taking this into account, he points out that it is primarily a political stage.
“The EU does not buy LNG. There is a global LNG market and LNG buyers have their own contracts,” Laurent Rousseckas, executive director of gas markets at commodity giant S&P Global, told Politico. . “It is certainly possible to sign a memorandum of understanding to talk about increasing purchasing volumes, but after all in the past it was a way of putting a political envelope on what was offered by the market, and the EU is now in line with the market. 'needs to purchase a large amount of LNG. ”
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