A ship carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) was towed from the port of Rotterdam on January 13, 2025 in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
Pierre CROM | Getty images
President Donald Trump has opened a potential path for business partners to avoid higher prices – buy more energy in the United States
Trump paused the “reciprocal” prices on countries except China on Wednesday to try to withdraw from a full -fledged world trade war. Most nations are now facing a basic rate rate of 10% and have a period of three months to negotiate bilateral agreements with the United States to avoid higher tasks on its goods.
Trump says he wants to reduce the American trade deficit and achieve what he calls “energy dominance”. He linked these two goals on Monday, demanding that the European Union buys $ 350 billion in American energy to erase its trade surplus with the United States, the American representative's office said the United States had a goods deficit of goods 235.6 billion dollars with the EU in 2024.
“They will have to buy us our energy because they need it,” Trump told journalists in the White House. “We can eliminate $ 350 billion in a week,” said the president. The European Union faces a tariff rate of 20% if it does not reach an agreement with Trump.
The United States is the largest oil and gas producer in the world. This is the third gross exporter and the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world. Energy represented around 15% of the total American exports in 2024, according to Barclays research.
LNG is “the goods where there is room for countries to increase their imports of energy from the United States,” Barclays analysts told Betty Jiang to a note on Tuesday.
Alaska LNG Project
The Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, told CNBC on Tuesday that a potential investment in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan in a flagship LNG project in Alaska could form the basis of an agreement with these countries. They would provide funding for the project and also buy a significant amount of LNG, said Bessent.
“It could be an alternative for them to come forward, because not only would it provide many American jobs, but it would reduce the trade deficit,” said the secretary to the Treasury. Japan faces a price rate of 24% and South Korea a rate of 25% if they do not consist with us
Trump has sought to stimulate American LNG exports since its entry into office, emphasizing the development of Alaska resources. He published a decree on the first day in power by prioritizing the development of LNG in the State and distinguished the LNG project in Alaska in his speech at Congress in March.
The LNG project in Alaska proposed would transport the natural gas of the northern slope of the State through a pipeline of 807 miles to the south to a liquefaction installation in Nikiski on the Cook entrance for export to Asia. It would cost more than $ 40 billion to be completed, according to a 2018 estimate Since one of the developers, the development of gas in Alaska.
Interior secretary Doug Burgum told Houston the conference in Houston that the Trump administration considered the project as crucial for American safety and independence.
The European Union, Japan and South Korea are already major American LNG buyers. The EU bought 39% of US LNG exports in 2024, followed by Japan at 7%, South Korea at 6% and India at 5%, Barclays said.
