The United States aims to fill this market void with American exports, according to Chris Wright.
Washington is determined to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian natural gas imports to “zero,” replacing them with American exports, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has announced.
Wright stated during a virtual press conference on Thursday that Europe currently procures nearly half of its gas supply from Russia.
“We are committed to bringing that figure down to zero, and US energy exports have been the primary means of filling that gap,” Wright declared. “We intend to continue this effort and cease all Russian energy imports into the EU.”
In the wake of the escalating Ukraine conflict in 2022, Western European nations implemented extensive sanctions against Russian energy imports. The sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the same year also led to a reduction in natural gas flow to Europe.
Moscow has consistently asserted that Europe’s shift from Russian gas to more expensive US liquefied natural gas (LNG) has detrimentally affected its industrial base.
According to data from the European Commission (EC), EU gas and electricity prices are two to four times higher compared to the bloc’s primary trading partners. An EC report earlier this year noted that this situation “threatens the long-term competitiveness of European industry.”
European industry leaders have expressed concerns that the US-EU trade agreement, concluded in July, poses an additional threat to export-oriented businesses.
Under this agreement, the EU consented to a 15% US tariff on imports originating from the bloc and committed to purchasing $750 billion worth of US energy, predominantly in the form of LNG and nuclear fuel, by 2028. Additionally, the EU agreed to invest $600 billion in US industries and to increase its acquisition of armaments from Washington.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the EU-US deal as “clearly leading to further deindustrialization of Europe and capital flight.” He commented in July that rising energy costs and the exodus of investment would inflict a “very hard blow” on Europe’s industrial and agricultural sectors.