Essay by Eric Worrall
“… The goal: prop up energy sources facing cost pressures from clean technology, strengthen US control …, and shut out China …”
Trump is pushing allies to buy US gas. It’s bad economics – and a catastrophe for the climate
Published: October 21, 2025 6.09am AEDT
Christoph Nedopil
Director, Griffith Asia Institute and Professor of Economics, Griffith UniversityThe price of partnership with the United States has changed. Washington is now using assurances of defence and trade access to pressure allies in Europe and Asia to buy more of its fossil fuels under decades-long contracts.
The scale is immense. The European Union intends to import up to A$1.15 trillion of US energy – mostly liquefied natural gas (LNG) – by 2028. That would be more than four times its current imports, though analysts are sceptical it will eventuate.
Indonesia has signed up for $24 billion in US energy imports and Japan is exploring a similar option.
These deals aren’t based on free trade. They represent the Trump administration’s geopolitical play using trade and security carrots and sticks to lock in long-term fossil fuel profitability and dominance. The goal: prop up energy sources facing cost pressures from clean technology, strengthen US control of the energy flows, and shut out China, the world’s top manufacturer of clean tech.
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These unfair deals will make US allies less competitive. The main use for LNG is to burn it to produce electricity. But for almost a decade, solar and and wind have been the cheapest way to produce power, consistently outcompeting all fossil fuels.
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Read more: https://theconversation.com/trump-is-pushing-allies-to-buy-us-gas-its-bad-economics-and-a-catastrophe-for-the-climate-266792
The things they believe.
The reality is the renewable transition has failed.
President Trump is not creating gas demand, there is already a big demand for gas. The only question is who satisfies that demand.
Europe was buying heaps Russian gas before they inked the latest deals with the USA, and likely still is. Despite hundreds of billions of dollars of European investment, Europe’s renewable energy systems are incapable of supplying Europe’s energy needs.
Asia is also a long term purchaser of large shipments of gas.
So why is President Trump pushing to ink long term US gas export deals with customers?
There is a simple explanation which you would think someone who studies energy economics would know about. The world will shortly be awash with new gas supplies.
The end of this decade, early 2030s at the latest, will see an enormous influx of new Argentinian gas onto the global market.
The United Arab Emirates also recently announced $150 billion dollars of new investment in gas exports.
The only nations which have dropped the ball in this rush to supply the world’s gas needs are Australia and Russia, whose incompetent leaders have been destabilising long standing gas supply relationships.
President Trump is just doing his job – he is helping US exporters to develop new business, to take advantage of the market opportunity created by the poor behavior of other gas suppliers. Trump is using whatever leverage is available to him to maximise the share of that future Asian and European gas demand which will be satisfied by US energy exports.
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