MADRID, August 4. /TASS/. The European Union is at risk of becoming the US’ 'energy colony' due to the tariff deal between Brussels and Washington, the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia said.
Analyzing the deal, the publication wrote that "the devil is in the details." "But it is the fine print that is most questionable because the agreement risks the EU becoming an energy colony of the US," the newspaper said. As explained, the agreement stipulates that Europe will spend $750 bln over three years to buy oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal from the United States.
To meet its commitments, "the EU will need to receive around 70% of its energy imports from this country," an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz believes. "The agreement effectively ties the bloc's energy supply to a single supplier," she added. It is assumed that for meeting the obligations the EU would have to triple its imports of American fuel in 2025.
On July 27, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump agreed on import tariffs of 15% on approximately three-quarters of European goods entering the American market since August 1 instead of 30% tariffs on all imports threatened by Washington earlier. In return, the European Commission vowed to ban all imports of any Russian energy products to the EU and purchase American oil, gas and nuclear fuel to the tune of $750 billion as well as invest $600 billion in the US economy.