TALLINN, Estonia — U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans could actually undermine his hopes of shipping more fuel to Europe, the continent’s leading gas executive is warning.
Brussels is hoping to negotiate more purchases of American liquefied natural gas (LNG) to appease Trump and help avert a full-blown trade war. But in an interview with POLITICO, Cristian Signoretto, director at Italian multinational energy giant Eni and president of the Eurogas trade association, cautioned that American supplies would become less competitive if planned tariffs take effect following a 90-day pause.
“From an industry perspective, there is absolutely interest in signing more long-term deals,” said Signoretto, whose company is the second-largest fossil fuel importer in the EU and would be key to Brussels’ hopes of increasing purchases of American LNG.
That said, “there are some issues when it comes to the cost of tariffs on those projects. Those projects are multibillion-dollar investments in the U.S., and if you have tariffs on steel, on procurement, on imported goods, this might then turn them into more costly investments.”
