Tag Archives: Nord Stream 2

Another Pre-Summit Dividend — No Sanctions on Nordstream 2, by Tom Luongo

Posted on July 1, 2018 | Leave a comment

It looks like the Nordstream 2 pipeline will go through without US sanctions. From Tom Luongo at tomluongo.me.com:

I hate to say “I told you so,” but, “I told you so.”  There will be no sanctions on the Nordstream 2 pipeline.  The reason is because sanctions won’t stop the project at this point.

Sputnik is reporting that the U.S. has told the German Economic Ministry there will be no sanctions on Russian pipeline projects.

If true then this is an indication that just about reached the peak of Trump’s full-court press on the economic health of the planet through financial control.   I’ve been steadfast in my position that sanctions are not only an act of war but also, ultimately, have limits.

And once those limits are reached all that is left is the face-saving.  And since the first rule of being a politician is never back down no major policy can be reversed without a means to save face.

Look at the situation Angela Merkel is facing in Germany.  She can’t cave on Nordstream 2 because she will look like a weak U.S. quisling (which she is).  She can’t reverse sanctions on Russia over Crimea because there has been no movement towards implementing the Minsk II accord.   And she can’t back down over her immigration policy because it would betray the people who put her in power — the Soros Set.

Trump has used this to pressure her ruthlessly on trade issues and NATO funding.

As for Trump, he’s not said much directly about Nordstream 2.  Members of his administration have, especially State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert.   They are the ones who would have to eat crow over Nordstream 2, not Trump.

Trump has made it clear he doesn’t like the project but I think that’s more about his desire to bring Germany low rather than stifle Russia.  The worry is that Germany, through Nordstream 2 and no more supply coming from Ukraine, would then control eastern European politics by having control of their gas supplies.

This, I believe, is now the main focus for Poland in their fight to retain some semblance of sovereignty from the EU.  This is why Poland continues to overpay for Qatari and U.S. LNG as well as invest in a new pipeline from Norway.

But, that said, Trump knows that Europe’s future gas market is big enough to ensure, if indirectly, a market for U.S. LNG.  So, Russia’s dominance in Europe is not something he can compete with in the long run.

To continue reading: Another Pre-Summit Dividend — No Sanctions on Nordstream 2

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Trump Gives Merkel An Ultimatum: Drop Russian Gas Pipeline Or Trade War Begins, by Tyler Durden

Posted on May 18, 2018 | 1 comment

Trumps think that Europeans should be buying higher priced US gas. From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:

It became clear just how important it is to the US for Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project to fail two months ago when, as we described in “US Threatens Sanctions For European Firms Participating In Russian Gas Pipeline Project“, the U.S. State Department warned European corporations that they will likely face penalties and sanctions if they participate in the construction of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 on the grounds that “the project undermines energy security in Europe”, when in reality Russia has for decades been a quasi-monopolist on European energy supplies and thus has unprecedented leverage over European politics, at least behind the scenes.

“As many people know, we oppose the Nord Stream 2 project, the US government does,” State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert said during a late March press briefing adding that “the Nord Stream 2 project would undermine Europe’s overall energy security and stability. It would provide Russia [with] another tool to pressure European countries, especially countries such as Ukraine.” And speaking of Ukraine, recall that in 2014, shortly after the US State Department facilitated the presidential coup in Ukraine, Joe Biden’s son Hunter joined the board of directors of Burisma, Ukraine’s largest oil and gas company. Surely that was merely a coincidence.

Nauert also said that Washington may introduce punitive measures against participants in the pipeline project – which could be implemented using a provision in the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Fast forward to today, when the dreadfully named CAATSA act just made a repeat appearance; around the time Europe made it clear it would openly defy Trump’s Iran sanctions, the WSJ reported that Trump told Merkel that if she wants to avoid a trans-Atlantic trade war, the price would be to pull the break on Nord Stream 2, according to German, U.S. and European sources.

The officials said Mr. Trump told German Chancellor Angela Merkel in April that Germany should drop support for Nord Stream 2, an offshore pipeline that would bring gas directly from Russia via the Baltic Sea. This would be in exchange for the U.S. starting talks with the European Union on a new trade deal.

While it had long been suspected that Trump would push hard to dismantle Nord Stream 2 just so US nat gas exporters could grab a slice of the European market pie, the aggressive push comes as a surprise, and as the WSJ notes, “the White House pressure reflects its hard ball tactics on trade, moves that have contributed to rising tensions between Europe and the U.S. and raised fears in export-dependent Germany of a tit-for-tat on tariffs that could engulf its car industry.”

To continue reading: Trump Gives Merkel An Ultimatum: Drop Russian Gas Pipeline Or Trade War Begins

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