President Donald Trump’s renewed offensive against the European Union’s trade policy has taken on a sharper geopolitical dimension, as analysts raise concerns that the administration’s tariff demands may be a prelude to positioning Russian natural gas—potentially routed through U.S.-backed intermediaries—as a strategic export to Europe.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump reiterated longstanding accusations that the EU has exploited the U.S. through lopsided trade arrangements. He pledged a decisive correction, denouncing what he characterised as a $350 billion annual trade imbalance. “The European Union has been very bad to us,” he said. “They don’t take our agricultural product… and yet they send millions of cars in a year.”
What sets Trump’s latest remarks apart, however, is the emphasis placed on energy as a corrective mechanism. “They’re going to have to buy and commit to buy a like amount of energy,” he said, noting that the U.S. possesses the world’s largest reserves of oil, gas, and coal.
Yet the specific absence of any mention of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure in Europe—and concurrent reports of renewed Russian attempts to revive the Nord Stream 2 pipeline with potential U.S. investor involvement—has raised the prospect that Russian gas may form part of Trump’s strategy to settle trade accounts with the EU.
Unspoken Leverage: Russian Gas, American Gatekeepers?
According to recent reporting, Russian entities linked to the Kremlin, including figures close to President Vladimir Putin, have approached U.S. intermediaries to facilitate the reactivation of gas flows into Europe via Nord Stream 2. The initiative—still under Western sanctions—seeks to reframe the pipeline as a multilateral project involving American commercial actors, potentially circumventing current EU restrictions on Russian energy imports.
Trump’s framing of energy exports as a fast-track solution to trade imbalances—“We can knock off $350 billion in one week”—has drawn scepticism. Analysts argue that neither U.S. LNG infrastructure nor European terminal capacity can scale to that level within any reasonable timeframe. This has led some observers to conclude that Trump’s comments may not refer exclusively to American-produced energy.
Critics point to a recent remark by Trump in which he stated, “We have more energy than any country in the world,” while simultaneously signalling openness to broader economic arrangements. With close associates such as real estate developer and special envoy Steve Witkoff reportedly engaging in backchannel discussions with Russian financial emissaries, the possibility of a U.S.-brokered deal involving Russian gas has gained traction.
Tariff Freeze Not Forthcoming
Despite EU proposals to eliminate industrial tariffs in a reciprocal “zero-for-zero” arrangement, Trump confirmed there would be no tariff pause while talks continue. “We’re not looking at that,” he said.
He accused the EU of using non-monetary barriers—such as regulatory tests for vehicles—as disguised protectionism. “They drop a bowling ball on your car from 20 feet up, and if there’s a dent, they say it doesn’t qualify,” he said, referring to what he claimed are artificial standards used to block U.S. exports.
Trump also suggested that if EU states failed to comply with American demands, economic disengagement would follow. “If we don’t get a fair deal, we’re going to have nothing to do with them,” he warned.
Trade Policy or Energy Diplomacy?
In past disputes, Trump has repeatedly tied trade grievances to broader geopolitical questions, including defence spending under NATO. At the press conference, he again conflated EU tariff practices with what he termed as European freeloading on U.S. military support.
Yet, the present emphasis on energy sales as the main corrective mechanism adds a new layer—especially in the context of his administration’s evolving posture towards Russia. While Trump continues to promote an “America First” agenda, the potential reintroduction of Russian energy to Europe under a U.S. umbrella would mark a significant shift from previous sanctions-based strategies.
“Tariffs will make this country very rich,” Trump claimed. “We’re going to start paying debt off with tariffs and other things.”
He added that the current path was America’s only chance to “reset the table” on global trade.
Strategic Repercussions
Trump’s approach raises two immediate concerns in Brussels. First, whether the U.S. is attempting to use tariffs to coerce the EU into accepting politically sensitive energy imports. Second, whether this signals a larger reconfiguration of U.S.–Russia–EU economic relations, particularly if American intermediaries stand to benefit from facilitating Russian access to European markets under the guise of tariff relief.
While the European Commission has yet to formally respond, officials have previously indicated that unilateral tariff actions by Washington would provoke countermeasures in line with World Trade Organization rules.
As speculation intensifies around the true direction of U.S. trade and energy policy, European leaders face the prospect of negotiating not only with Washington’s formal diplomats, but also with an emerging class of political intermediaries operating at the intersection of commerce and geopolitics.
Read also:
The Dmitriev-Witkoff Pact as the Basis of the Putin-Trump Partnership
