TotalEnergies CEO urges Europe to negotiate LNG free-trade deal with US

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By Benjamin Mallet and America Hernandez

PARIS (Reuters) -TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said on Wednesday that Europe should negotiate to obtain a free-trade guarantee on U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), against the backdrop of an unpredictable global trade environment.

U.S. President Donald Trump has just imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports, to which Beijing has responded with a 15% levy on U.S. LNG and 10% on U.S. crude oil.

Speaking to reporters after the company announced fourth- quarter earnings, Pouyanne said that LNG export capacity in the United States should practically double in coming years.

“But what happens if all of a sudden the U.S. decides they must export less than they’ve done historically? … We must not pass from a so-called over-dependence on Russia to an over-dependence on another country, even if it’s an ally,” Pouyanne said.

The global business community is having to grapple with a wave of tariffs launched by the new Trump administration on several countries, some of which have been suspended temporarily.

Trump has also threatened Europe with tariffs, though he has not yet imposed any, leaving companies facing a high level of uncertainty.

The EU received 43% of its LNG from the U.S. last year, making it the biggest supplier by far, according to Kpler data. But the EU is also trying to reduce its reliance on second-biggest supplier Russia.

The European Commission did not propose a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas in its latest package of sanctions because member states raised concerns about first securing alternatives including from the United States, EU diplomats said last week.

Pouyanne asked Trump during a video conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month if he would agree to guarantee security of LNG supplies to Europe.

TotalEnergies is the U.S.’s largest LNG exporter with more than 10 million tons under contract.

Trump responded by saying he would make sure that Europe gets its supplies.

Pouyanne told reporters on Wednesday: “There are two types of countries: those with free trade agreements that the Americans have signed and under which they cannot suspend exports, and then countries without free-trade agreements, like Europe.”

“I think it would be good for Europeans to ask the Americans in the negotiations that are to come, for a sort of free-trade guarantee on LNG,” he said.

The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Benjamin Mallet and America Hernandez; Writing by Dominique Patton; Editing by Louise Heavens, Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Jane Merriman)