Donald Trump has threatened to impose import duties on the European Union if the member states of the bloc do not purchase more American oil and gas. He did so in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. The United States is the largest producer of crude oil and the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
‘I have told the European Union that they must make up their huge trade deficit with the United States by purchasing our oil and gas on a large scale. Otherwise there will be IMPORT TAXES!!!,” he wrote in his post. Trump has previously threatened with import duties, not only for the EU, but also for countries such as China, Mexico and Canada. The threats appear to mainly target countries that export more to the US than import.
Trade war
Trump’s threats have raised fears of a global trade war. Higher import duties can lead to retaliatory measures. President Christine Lagarde of the European Central Bank previously called on the EU to first negotiate with the incoming president instead of immediately taking countermeasures.
The US has also become a major crude oil exporter in the past decade, sending both light and medium density grades to Canada as well as countries in Europe and Asia.
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