The EU has agreed to buy $750 billion worth of energy from the US as part of the two sides’ trade agreement, which could focus on LNG, oil and nuclear fuels, US and EU leaders said July 27.
Following months of negotiations, US President Donald Trump said the world’s two largest economies reached the “biggest deal ever made” to address their trade imbalances that include larger purchases of US energy by the bloc.
“We have more energy than anybody else,” Trump told reporters at one of his golf resorts in Scotland. “It was very wise that they buy a lot of energy … It solves a lot of problems.”
After meeting the president in the resort to finalize the deal, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the EU and the US will increase their “energy cooperation.”
“Purchases of US energy products will diversify our sources of supply and contribute to Europe’s energy security,” von der Leyen said in a statement. “We will replace Russian gas and oil with significant purchases of US LNG, oil and nuclear fuels.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU has banned imports of seaborne Russian crude since December 2022 and oil products since February 2023 while planning to stop gas imports by end-2027.
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Purchase details remain sketchy, but some media reports suggested the EU would seek to buy $250 billion/year of US energy over a three-year period.
The EU imported 80.4 million mt of LNG worth Eur41.1 billion in 2024, while its oil imports reached 453.4 million mt and were worth Eur261.8 billion, according to Eurostat.
The US was the largest oil and LNG supplier to the EU during the first quarter, accounting for 15% of its oil imports and 50.7% of its LNG imports, Eurostat figures showed.
Having planned to hit the EU with a 20% tariff previously in April before suspending it, Trump in July threatened to impose a 30% levy.
The two sides eventually ended up with an agreement whereby the US charges a 15% tariff on most EU imports except for steel, aluminum and pharmaceutical products. The EU also agreed to make $600 billion investments in the US to dial down the trade tensions while opening up to “trade at zero tariff,” Trump said without elaborating.
“It’s a huge deal … It’s a good deal for everybody,” von der Leyen said.
Source: Platts