US President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday he had told the European Union it must narrow its trade gap with the US through oil and gas purchases or face tariffs.

“I have told the European Union that it must make up its enormous deficit with the United States by purchasing our oil and gas on a large scale. Otherwise it’s tariffs everywhere,” Trump posted shortly after 1 a.m. on his Truth Social UND platform.

Accordingly US numbersThe country’s trade deficit in goods and services with the European Union amounted to $131.3 billion in 2022.

“The EU and US have deeply integrated economies with overall balanced trade and investment. “We stand ready to discuss with President-elect Trump how we can further strengthen an already strong relationship, including by discussing our shared interests in the energy sector,” European Commission spokesman Olof Gill told CNBC in response to Trump’s comments.

“The EU is committed to ending energy imports from Russia and diversifying our sources of supply,” Gill added.

A senior EU diplomat, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, told CNBC that they were not surprised by Trump’s comments on Friday and that energy was a “good option” for purchasing more U.S. goods.

Another EU official, who also did not want to be named for the same reason, told CNBC that Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to Trump last night.

The USA is the largest recipient of EU goods almost a fifth of the bloc’s exports. The USA largest trade deficit The deficit compared to the EU in machinery and vehicles will total 102 billion euros (106 billion US dollars) in 2023. In energy, Washington had a trade surplus with the European bloc worth 70 billion euros; it also has one significant trade surplus in services.

According to US Energy Information Administration forecasts, the US is the world’s largest oil producer, accounting for 22% of global supply in 2023 Record petroleum production in 2024. Producers expect an even higher offer in a deregulatory environment under Trump.

The EU had already indicated that it expected to buy more energy from the US in the coming years. Last month: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters that it would be cheaper to replace Russian imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with US quantities and that the EU would seek to engage and negotiate on this issue when Trump takes office in 2025.

European stock markets fell sharply on Friday morning, while the euro gained 0.2% against the US dollar to $1.038.

Trump has threatened comprehensive tariffs against US trading partners including China, Mexico and Canada a crucial part of his presidential campaign — and he has continued the narrative as he prepares to take office Economists warn Risks to domestic inflation.

Analysts say there is much uncertainty about how high the tariffs Trump will be willing or able to impose and the extent to which his rhetoric will serve as a starting point for striking deals.

His latest comments came after EU leaders held their final meeting of the year on Thursday, where the issue of Europe-US relations was discussed.

“The message is clear: the European Union is committed to continuing to work pragmatically with the United States to strengthen transatlantic relations,” said European Council President António Costa following the meeting.

Enrico Letta, former Italian prime minister and dean of the IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Friday that the EU must be prepared for retaliation to Trump’s threat.

“I think it’s a transactional approach, we have to respond to that transactional approach. “(Trump) is conflating energy and tariffs on goods, production, etc. I think that’s wrong because the two issues are completely different,” Letta said.

“If the deal is proposed by Trump – such an asymmetrical deal on issues that are unrelated – I think we need to do the same thing.”

“Considering that the most asymmetrical part is the relationship on the financial side, we have to think about whether an answer on the financial side could perhaps be a solution,” he said.

In the run-up to the US elections in November EU officials spent months on this Preparing for a transition to US protectionism and a more confrontational relationship with the White House in the event of a Trump victory. The EU has it too has taken steps to strengthen its relationships with the United Kingdom, which left the bloc in 2020, as a safeguard against potential trade and defense conflicts.