Trump has growing stranglehold over EU and UK energy supply, study shows

"In part due to the war in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions on Russian pipeline gas, European countries have become dependent on shipments of US liquified natural gas (LNG), according to a paper co-authored by the Clingendael Institute, in The Hague, the Ecologic Institute, in Berlin, and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. The development is fraught with risk at a time when Trump has shifted towards a more explicitly interest-driven, protectionist and ideologically charged approach, the paper says."

"The US president has most recently threatened to use tariffs on trade with European allies in order get their agreement on his acquisition of Greenland, which is part of Denmark, an EU member state and Nato ally. Trump's controversial national security strategy paper published in November explicitly stated that the White House was seeking US energy dominance, which when and where necessary enables us to project power."

"Data showed that imports to the European Economic Area of US LNG natural gas that is supercooled to make it easier to transport increased by 61% in 2025. The EEA comprises the 27 EU states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Imports to the EEA were up 485% compared with 2019 and US LNG now accounted for 59% of LNG imports to the EU, according to gas flows data from December."

European countries shifted dependency from Russian pipeline gas to US liquified natural gas (LNG) after the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russian gas. US LNG imports to the European Economic Area rose 61% in 2025 and 485% since 2019, accounting for 59% of EU LNG imports. The UK met 50% of gas demand from domestic production in 2024, 33% from EEA imports, and relied on LNG for the remainder, 68% of which came from the US. Pipeline gas share from Russia fell from 60% in 2019 to 8% in 2025. US policy emphasizes energy dominance and has included threats of tariffs to influence allies.

Read at www.theguardian.com