President-elect Donald Trump on Friday added the 27 countries that make up the European Union to the list of trade partners he's threatening with tariffs — unless the group takes steps to import more U.S. goods.
"I told the European Union that they must make up their tremendous deficit with the United States by the large scale purchase of our oil and gas," Trump posted shortly after 1 a.m. on social media. "Otherwise, it is TARIFFS all the way!!!"
In 2023, the United States' trade imbalance with the EU on goods was $209 billion, according to the Census Bureau. There were $576 billion in imports from Europe and $367 billion in exports from the United States.
Trump's transition team did not respond to questions seeking greater clarity on the message, which for all its bluntness was unclear on next steps.
When Trump threatened Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs in November, the leaders of both countries spoke with him to try and resolve any tensions. But the European Union lacks a single figure who can make the purchase commitments of natural gas and oil on behalf of its 27 member states that Trump is seeking.
EU Commission spokesman Olof Gill said in reaction to Trump's post that "we are ready to discuss with President-elect Trump how we can further strengthen an already strong relationship, including by discussing our common interests in the energy sector."
Gill noted that the EU is already "committed to phasing out energy imports from Russia and diversifying our sources of supply. We're not going to go into any details about what that might entail in the future, given that the new administration isn't even in place yet."