Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck is setting off today on a multi-day trip to the USA. The Vice Chancellor wants to meet business representatives and politicians in Washington, New York and Chicago by Saturday. It is the Green politician’s third trip to the United States as Economics Minister.
According to his ministry, the topics of the trip are current economic, energy and climate policy issues, especially in light of the current geopolitical crises. The aim is to strengthen economic relations with the USA in the long term and to promote cooperation on future technological issues.
German Environmental Aid called on Habeck to agree to limit liquefied gas imports from the USA to what is absolutely necessary and to initially stop the construction of import terminals in Germany. Germany recently purchased more than 80 percent of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the USA, with remaining uncertainties about the exact origin and composition of the gas. Overall, however, Germany has so far only processed a small portion of its gas imports via the LNG infrastructure. According to data from the Federal Network Agency, the LNG share of Germany’s gas imports was seven percent in December.
The US government had announced that it would put pending approvals for the export of liquefied natural gas on hold. The White House said at the end of January that the impact of exports on energy costs, US energy security and the environment should be examined. The pause applies to export projects to all countries with which the USA does not have a free trade agreement – the states of the European Union are among them. However, the White House emphasized that US allies would continue to be supplied via the existing infrastructure.