US President Donald Trump stated that the European Union must commit to purchasing $350 billion worth of American energy to receive a delay in the imposition of new tariffs. He made this announcement late on April 7, according to Politico.
Trump’s comments were a response to a statement made earlier the same day by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who proposed reducing tariffs on cars and industrial products imported from the US to zero, if Trump reciprocates.
When asked by a journalist whether this proposal was enough for him to agree to a reduction in tariffs, Trump responded: “No, it’s not enough.”
We have a $350 billion deficit with the European Union, and it’s going to disappear quickly,” said the US president, adding that “one of the ways it can disappear easily and quickly is that they have to buy our energy… they can buy it, and we can wipe out that deficit in one week. They have to commit to buying that amount of energy.
The idea of purchasing American energy in exchange for tariff reductions is not new. Almost immediately after Trump’s re-election, von der Leyen proposed negotiations on increasing the purchase of American liquefied natural gas, but the US has not clarified how such an agreement would work.
Later, at a press conference, journalists asked Trump which countries, in his opinion, have advanced the most in terms of tariff reductions. He replied that the EU “significantly reduced tariffs on cars,” adding that, according to his information, the tariffs may be reduced to zero.
