Nestled among the bold characters of headlines about freshly signed U.S. trade deals are equally bold numbers: $550 billion, $250 billion, $100 billion. These are some of the eye-watering figures that countries have promised to invest in or buy from the United States’ energy sector — primarily its fossil fuel industry — as part of the agreements.
Whether such large amounts of money will actually be pumped into the U.S. economy is yet to be seen, but in the meantime, U.S. President Donald Trump is living up to his promise to “drill, baby, drill” by aggressively promoting America’s energy resources, especially natural gas.
Increasing the United States’ oil and gas production means it can rely on these as cheap energy sources domestically while also selling them abroad to reduce its trade deficit with other countries — so the MAGA argument goes.
Major environmental concerns about boosting this industry aside — particularly given the country’s status as the top emitter of methane from oil and gas production — the economic case is also far from clear.
How Trump is gaslighting on climate change — with Japan’s help
The Japan Times, 03/08/25
Featured image: The Bishu Maru LNG tanker next to the Freeport LNG terminal in Texas © Mara Budgen
