President-elect Trump's energy plans could be affected by tariffs

2024-12-29 18:57:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

During the campaign in August, Donald Trump made a big promise to lower the cost of living.

"We will make an all-out effort to bring the cost of living under control, ending Biden and Harris' war against the American energy sector. We are going to do new drilling to extract oil and gas," Mr. Trump said.

This issue will be a priority for President-elect Trump after he officially takes office on January 20.

He aims to increase oil supplies by speeding up the issuance of oil drilling permits, including expanding oil exploration along the United States' coastline.

Some analysts say this move could trigger a backlash from oil companies.

"We cannot force countries and companies to drill new holes to extract more oil. "Investors are often worried about high oil production because overproduction causes prices to fall," says James Coleman of the University of Minnesota.

Mr. Trump has also proposed expanding exports of liquefied natural gas.

Qatar's Energy Minister, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, said earlier this month that he had no concerns about Mr Trump's promise to lift restrictions on liquefied natural gas exports.

"Competition from increased liquefied natural gas production is welcome. Even if liquefied natural gas production increases and the United States exports 300 or 500 million tons of liquefied natural gas, all these projects will be run by private companies, which will do their own analysis on the commercial viability of these projects." , says Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, Qatar's Minister of Energy.

Mr. Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Department of Energy, Chris Wright, an oil company chief executive, clashed with Democratic lawmaker Sean Casten earlier this year over his statements on climate change.

"You have said that there is no climate crisis. We are not in the middle of an energy transition. Humans and complex life are simply impossible without carbon dioxide. The idea of ??carbon pollution is outrageous. Do you agree with all these things you said?" , Legislator Casten asked.

"Absolutely. Which one is wrong?" , replied Mr. Wright.

Many of Mr. Trump's energy plans cannot be realized without cooperation with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers.

"We export a lot of energy products to Canada and Mexico, so reciprocal tariffs with these countries could have a negative impact on our producers. I think most of the energy industry hopes that the tariff threats will not materialize," says American expert James Coleman.

In stark contrast to the Biden administration, which prioritized renewable energy and the fight against climate change, Mr. Trump is expected to end subsidies for buyers of electric cars./VOA