EU Open to Energy, Arms Purchases from US to Avoid Tariffs
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The European Union is ready to discuss buying energy and weapons from the United States to avert tariffs that President Donald Trump has threatened to impose on the bloc, the EU's top economic official said on Thursday.
Trump has vowed to address a persistent surplus in his country's trade in goods with the EU, either through tariffs or increased sales of oil and gas.
European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said the EU would defend its rights and interests if tariffs were imposed, and noted tit-for-tat duties the EU imposed on U.S. imports when EU steel and aluminum were hit with tariffs in Trump's first term.
But the EU primarily wanted to engage with the new U.S. administration, Dombrovskis, who is in charge of trade for the bloc's executive, told Reuters in an interview in Davos.
He said U.S. imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) had proved helpful when Russia cut off most of its gas supplies to Europe in 2022 after invading Ukraine. The United States is now the EU's biggest LNG supplier.
"We are looking for alternative suppliers," he said. "So we have had good cooperation over the last two years and we are on our side ready to see how to foster that."
Europe has suggested defense spending could also be an avenue, given Europe's need to beef up its defense capabilities to counter Russia, which would entail strong cooperation within NATO.
"There certainly is also room for discussion on how to strengthen our military and military-industrial cooperation," Dombrovskis said.
(Reporting by Marta Fiorin and Cecile Mantovani; Writing by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mark Heinrich)