President Trump hashed out a trade deal on Wednesday that will lead to Europe buying more liquefied natural gas from the U.S. to diversify its energy supplies.
Trump said the new steps taken Wednesday to reduce trade barriers on both sides of the Atlantic will also be “strengthening” the U.S.-European strategic relationship on energy.
“The European Union wants to import more liquefied natural gas, LNG, from the United States and they are going to be a big buyer,” he said after meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
The president added that the U.S. will help ease the process for shipping more LNG to the European Union under the new trade deal, but did not give any details.
“So, they will be able to diversify their energy supply, which they very much want to do,” Trump said, calling it a “big day” and a “new phase in the relationship” on trade.
Juncker said his intention was to “make a deal today,” and that is what happened. He said the European Union will import more natural gas from the U.S. as the number of LNG export terminals increases. “This is also a message for others,” he said.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry will participate in a Thursday ribbon-cutting ceremony for the nation’s second large natural gas export terminal, and the first on the East Coast, outside of Washington in Lusby, Md.
The Cove Point terminal is owned by the large Virginia-based utility company Dominion. The terminal will provide one of the closest direct routes to expand U.S. natural gas shipments to Europe.
On Wednesday, Perry announced that the agency is moving forward with new regulations to “expedite the permitting of certain small-scale exports of natural gas” to South and Central America.
“The so-called ‘small-scale rule’ will further unleash American energy by reducing the regulatory burden on American businesses while also providing significant benefits to our trading partners in in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America,” Perry said.
