Latest news with #energyimports
Russia Today
a day ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Trump ‘wiped the floor' with EU
The new trade agreement between the US and the EU is 'completely humiliating for the Europeans,' former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said. The deal, announced on Sunday by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, includes a requirement for EU member states to increase imports of American energy and defense products. It also imposes a blanket 15% tariff on EU exports to the US – terms accepted by Brussels to avoid even steeper trade penalties. In a social media post on Monday, Medvedev, who serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, claimed that the terms of the deal meant Trump had 'wiped the floor with Europe.' 'One can only feel sorry for ordinary Europeans,' Medvedev wrote. He asserted that where Trump is seeking economic benefits for American businesses, EU leaders are motivated by an ideological anti-Russian sentiment, as the deal further cements Brussels' intention to terminate all purchases of Russian oil and gas. The Trump administration has used tariffs as a tool to confront what it considers unfair trade practices and chronic deficits in trade with key partners. In the absence of a deal, EU products could have faced tariffs as high as 50%. Last week, Brussels prepared a list of US goods it was ready to hit with retaliatory duties if negotiations collapsed. Medvedev and other senior Russian officials have repeatedly portrayed EU leaders as politically weak and overly compliant with Washington's agenda, often at the expense of their own economic interests. Russia has been especially critical of the EU's break from Russian energy supplies, a move initiated as part of sanctions over the Ukraine conflict. Moscow contends that the resulting shift to more expensive US liquefied natural gas has contributed to the deindustrialization of major European economies.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Why China-Russia ‘troika' talks are back on India's table
As friction with the West builds over energy imports and trade, India is weighing a delicate recalibration: reviving its long-dormant trilateral dialogue with Russia and China , even as it insists it remains committed to its partnerships with the US and its allies. Advertisement India indicated earlier this month its openness to resuming the Russia-India-China (RIC) dialogue, a platform established in the early 2000s to foster coordination among the three Eurasian powers. Describing the RIC as a consultative mechanism for addressing shared regional and global challenges, New Delhi's Ministry of External Affairs emphasised on July 17 that any decision on resuming talks would be taken 'in a mutually convenient manner'. No timeline was provided for when this might happen. The move came just weeks after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had voiced strong support for reviving the format. Speaking at a conference last month, Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow's desire to 'confirm our genuine interest in the earliest resumption of the work within the format of the troika – Russia, India, China – which was established many years ago on the initiative of former Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov'. Former Russian PM Yevgeny Primakov (left) with his Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee in 1998, the year he called for the creation of a 'strategic triangle' between Russia, India and China. Photo: AFP Analysts suggest the impetus behind India's overture stems from growing frustration with what it perceives as Western 'double standards'. Sriparna Pathak, a professor of China studies and international relations at O.P. Jindal Global University in India, pointed to recent warnings from Nato chief Mark Rutte that India could face ' 100 per cent secondary sanctions ' for buying Russian oil.
Russia Today
6 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Slovak state gas firm eyes full Russian supply
Slovakia's largest natural gas company is planning to turn to Russia for 100% of its supplies next year, Bloomberg has reported. Company officials cited cost benefits as EU countries face a ban on spot purchases of Russian energy, the outlet said. The EU aims to phase out Russian energy imports by the end of 2027 as part of its RePowerEU strategy. The plan includes a ban on new pipeline and LNG contracts with Moscow, as well as an end to imports under existing spot agreements. However, the scheme has faced pushback from Slovakia and Hungary. Both countries are expected to receive transitional exemptions, enabling them to continue to uphold long-term contracts with Gazprom. The ban, set to take effect in January, could free up additional pipeline capacity for Slovakia's Slovensky plynarensky priemysel (SPP) and Hungary's MVM Magyar Villamos Muvek, the outlet said on Monday. 'Russian gas is the most cost-effective for us, which is why we prioritize it,' Michal Lalik, SPP's trade director, told Bloomberg. 'We could be buying 100% of our needs, that's about 8 million cubic meters per day.' Last week, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said Bratislava had accepted guarantees from the European Commission to limit the impact of a halt in Russian gas supplies. As a result, Bratislava lifted its veto on the EU's 18th package of sanctions against Russia. Slovakia has resisted the EU's push to sever energy ties with Russia, warning of severe economic consequences. Fico has condemned the bloc's plan as 'imbecilic,' saying it would undermine Slovakia's energy security and destabilize the wider EU. Slovakia, which still receives Russian gas via TurkStream under a long-term contract with Gazprom through 2034, warns that losing access to cheaper supplies would harm its competitiveness. Without Turkstream, Slovakia would be forced to rely on western supply routes – mainly via Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic – leading to higher transit costs. 'Price disparities within the supposedly unified European energy market will distort competition and severely weaken the position of Slovak companies,' said Roman Karlubik, vice president of the Federation of Employers' Associations.
Reuters
16-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
India's GAIL in initial talks for long-term LNG deal with Alaska LNG, sources say
NEW DELHI, July 16 (Reuters) - India's state-run GAIL ( opens new tab is in initial talks to buy liquefied natural gas from the proposed Alaska LNG project as the South Asian nation expands its import capacity, three industry sources with knowledge of the matter said. The talks with developer Glenfarne come as India works to raise its energy imports from the United States to narrow its trade surplus as part of a broader trade agreement with Washington to avoid the imposition of hefty U.S. tariffs. GAIL's discussions are preliminary as the landed cost of LNG will be a crucial deciding factor for the deal, the sources said. Glenfarne said last month that 50 firms had formally expressed interest in contracts with Alaska LNG. The project, championed by U.S. President Donald Trump, has been stuck on the drawing board for more than a decade. GAIL did not respond to Reuters email seeking comment on the talks. "Glenfarne does not comment on or confirm individual commercial negotiations, but Alaska LNG's growing commercial momentum reflects the project's competitive economic and geostrategic advantages," it said in an emailed statement to Reuters. India, the world's fourth-largest LNG importer, aims to increase the share of gas in its energy mix to 15% by 2030, up from about 6% currently, to reduce its carbon footprint. GAIL plans to increase the capacity of its 5 million metric tons per year Dabhol LNG terminal to 6.3 million tons per year by mid-2027 and to 12.5 million tons per year by 2031-32. Earlier this year GAIL invited initial bids from companies as it seeks to buy equity in an existing LNG project or a new project that would be commissioned by 2030 at the latest. The $44-billion Alaska LNG project could export up to 20 million metric tons per year of the superchilled gas. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said in March the project could start exporting LNG by 2030. Glenfarne expects to make a final investment decision in the fourth quarter of this year on the first phase of the project - a 765-mile (1231-km) pipeline to deliver gas from the state's far north to its Anchorage region. Thailand's state-owned oil and gas giant PTT ( opens new tab last month signed a 20-year agreement to buy 2 million tons per year of LNG from the Alaska LNG project. Others, including South Korea and Japan's top power producer JERA, are awaiting clarity on the financing and cost of the project. GAIL has contracts to buy 15.5 million tons annually of LNG including 5.8 million tons from the United States.
Bloomberg
11-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Hungarian Oil Company Comes Up With an Unlikely Pipeline Plan
Hi, this is Zoltan Simon in Budapest. Welcome to our weekly newsletter on what's shaping economics and investments from the Baltic Sea to the Balkans. You can subscribe here. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is campaigning for re-election by vowing to block Ukraine's European Union accession and by railing against Brussels for its support for Kyiv. He also opposes a push to end Russian energy imports by 2027. That makes oil importer Mol's plan to wean itself off Russian crude all the more unusual.
