Trump Delivers Fresh Threats To Europe, Demands They Buy American Oil Or Face Tariffs

President-elect Donald Trump threatened in a Truth Social post Friday to impose tariffs on the European Union (EU) unless the bloc increases the purchases of U.S. oil and gas.

“I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas. Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!” Trump posted around 1 a.m. Friday morning.

The EU did not directly address the threat, but a European Commission spokesperson noted the bloc was ready to discuss its trade relationship with the United States.

“The EU & US have deeply integrated economies, with overall balanced trade/investment. We’re ready to discuss with President-elect Donald Trump how we can further strengthen an already strong relationship, including by discussing our common energy sector interests,” spokesperson Olaf Gill tweeted Friday.

The EU & US have deeply integrated economies, with overall balanced trade/investment.

We’re ready to discuss with President-elect @realDonaldTrump how we can further strengthen an already strong relationship, including by discussing our common energy sector interests.

🇪🇺🤝🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/SfHxBgK7ZK

— Olof Gill (@olofgill) December 20, 2024

EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen indicated that following Trump’s return to the Oval Office, the EU may start buying more oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. rather than Russia.

“We still get a lot of LNG from Russia and why not replace it [with] American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices,” von der Leyen told reporters in November, according to Reuters.

The threats to Europe are the latest in what appears to be the president-elect’s diplomatic strategy. Trump previously levied tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports in 2018.

Trump warned BRICS — the economic alliance composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and others — in November that he would punish all member nations with 100% tariffs if they tried to develop a currency to rival the U.S. dollar.

The president-elect also threatened American farming equipment manufacturer John Deere in September, warning that if they moved ahead with plans to relocate their manufacturing to Mexico, he would impose 200% tariffs on their products.

Most recently, Trump brandished looming tariffs against Canada and Mexico, telling both countries he would tack 25% tariffs onto all imports if they did not do more to curb rampant illegal immigration. (RELATED: ‘Why Not?’: Trump Tells Rogan He’ll Use Tariffs To Eliminate Income Tax, Make America ‘Rich’)

Incoming border czar Tom Homan told Tucker Carlson on Wednesday that illegal immigration in some areas of the northern border is up 600-800%.

The largest potential recipient of Trump tariffs is likely to be China, a country which was already on the receiving end of tariffs during Trump’s first term, sparking a trade war between the two nations.

Trump campaigned on a promise to impose tariffs on all imports and floated the idea of a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports.