The European Commission negotiates trade deals on behalf of the bloc’s 27 members — but it can’t instruct European companies to invest, nor can it direct energy purchases. Those decisions are made by the private sector, not by the EU executive.
In the run-up to the Turnberry deal, Brussels gauged the intentions of leading European businesses and “urgently” requested they provide data about their ongoing and planned investments in the U.S. The $600 billion figure was based on those estimates, but was never intended as a binding commitment.
The same applies to the $750 billion energy pledge. Commission officials have admitted the figure reflects the bloc’s projected “needs,” not a procurement plan by the EU executive or member countries. Moreover, with energy prices so volatile, it’s hard to target a fixed price.
To be sure, EU energy imports from the U.S. are increasing. Over the past year, the bloc has significantly upped its purchases of U.S. LNG as it sought to extinguish its energy trade with Russia.
The war in Iran has added further momentum: Between January and April the EU bought $15 billion in oil and gas products from the U.S., up 24 percent from the previous four months according to EU trade data.
But that’s still far short of the headline figure pledged over three years. Getting to $750 billion, at that rate, would take 16 years — not three.
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