But persuading the unpredictable United States president not to clobber British imports with his punitive tariff regime won’t be easy.
Trump insisted Sunday night that a deal to spare Britain “can be worked out.” So could buying more American gas do the job?
“The one thing they can do quickly is buy our oil and gas,” Trump said, when asked how the bloc could avoid threatened tariffs.
That resulted in U.S. LNG ramping-up to 26 percent of total U.K. energy imports.
A senior Whitehall figure said when it came to purchasing more American F-35s “everything was on the table” as a part of the U.K.’s ongoing defense review.
LONDON — Britain aspires to stay out of the global trade war led by Donald Trump. However, it will be difficult to convince the erratic US president to refrain from imposing harsh tariffs on British imports.
While Trump threatens to impose tariffs on the European Union, London officials are considering ways to avoid being hit as well.
Trump maintained on Sunday night that a deal “can be worked out” to spare Britain. Could purchasing more American gas solve the problem?
Along with a possible increase in British arms imports from the United States, it’s a plan. S. To gain favor with the commander-in-chief, it is currently being discussed in Westminster.
“If we are producing less in the North Sea, we will need to get gas from somewhere,” the former Energy Secretary and U.S. K. Regarding the rapidly diminishing reserves off the U.S. coast, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng told POLITICO. K. seashore.
As more nuclear power is brought online, “the U. S. . is the appropriate location, Kwarteng contended. “We won’t get it from Qatar or Russia, which are the only other options. “.”.
Given that Trump is already attempting to circumvent the EU regarding fossil fuels, this kind of change could be well received.
When asked how the bloc could avoid threatened tariffs, Trump responded, “buying our oil and gas is the one thing they can do quickly.”.
A freeze on permits for new LNG drilling projects, which involves cooling gas into a liquid and shipping it around the globe before turning it back into gas, was lifted during Joe Biden’s administration.
The former U.S. K. An official from the energy department, who was given anonymity to speak freely, acknowledged that a deal might be feasible, pointing out the U. The K. made similar agreements after Ukraine was invaded by Russia. The outcome was U. S. LNG is increasing to 26% of the U.S. The K. energy imports. “It’s better to purchase from the United States than Qatar,” they echoed Kwarteng.
Trump wants something for the United States. The K. and European nations to enhance their acquisitions of U. A. A senior economist at Allianz Trade named Maxime Darmet concurred, saying that energy could be [used as] a bargaining chip.
That’s an area where there’s a U,” stated Matthew Oresman, a partner at the international law firm Pillsbury. The K. necessity as well as a U. A. want and U. S. . supply, which might be included in that bridge construction. “”.
“I anticipate that the U.S. will offer a lot of deals. K. may need to be discussed,” Liam Byrne, a Labour MP and the chair of the Business and Trade Committee, stated.
As Byrne noted, Trump is a “very transaction-focused politician,” and LNG purchases may be one thing the U.S. K. . could offer to do it. “.”.
Green complains of guzzling gas.
Given that the North Sea oil and gas industry is already irritated by the government’s stricter tax laws and its efforts to prohibit new fossil fuel licenses in British waters, more gas imports will undoubtedly cause controversy.
But reliance on U. S. . Glen Bryn-Jacobsen of National Gas forecast that LNG will only “increase as time goes on” as domestic output declines over the next ten years.
Increased imports could lead to yet another Whitehall dispute between growth hawks and greenies because LNG pollutes more than gas sourced domestically because of the regasification process and shipping.
Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis’s lead energy analyst for Europe, contended that the U. K. should be increasing clean energy production in the country as a substitute.
“Instead of committing to more LNG imports and running the risk of escalating the impact on emissions, the U. K. should keep using heat pumps and increasing renewable energy to cut down on gas consumption,” she said.
Liam Hardy, head of research at the Green Alliance think tank, stated that “we should be doing everything we can to reduce our reliance on gas.”. “If we have to import gas, shipping it from Norway via pipeline results in significantly lower emissions than shipping it from the United States,” he continued. “”.
Trump has promised to “drill, baby, drill,” so it’s unlikely that those worries will receive much attention in the White House. He promised to withdraw the U.S. in an executive order that he signed. S. on the eve of his inauguration from the Paris Accord, a crucial deal for pursuing global climate action.
“They were very ideological,” Kwarteng said of his interactions with the Trump administration during his first term. At the time, we were very eager to decarbonize. The U. A. didn’t have a truck with that. Even though his personal interlocutors and I got along well, their priorities were different. “.”.
jet diplomacy.
In the age of Trump’s trade war, Whitehall is focusing on more than just energy imports. The U. The K. might try to purchase more U. S. defense exports to appease Trump and prevent further tariffs.
There may now be more British orders for the American-made F-35 fighter jets, according to a defense industry insider who asked not to be named.
The U. The K. has purchased 48 fighter jets to date, despite initially committing to purchasing 138 in 2015.
However, because of Britain’s efforts to develop new stealth jets with Italy and Japan as part of the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP), there has been uncertainty about achieving this number.
Trump’s return to the White House might cause the government to reconsider its position. As part of the U.S. government, a senior Whitehall official stated that “everything was on the table” regarding the acquisition of additional American F-35s. The K. continues to review defense.