At the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2018, then-US President Donald Trump attempted to call out Germany for its reliance on Russian energy, and his claims were received by the German delegation with amusement and laughter.
“Germany will become totally dependent on Russian energy if it does not immediately change course,” Trump said. The claim was deemed “outrageous,” and CNBC said it was “not accurate” and “highly misleading.”
The CNBC report cited in the NowThis video comes from a July 13, 2018 report, which was a response to Trump making similar claims during the NATO Summit. The former president was criticizing Germany’s decision to proceed with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
“Germany, as far as I’m concerned, is captive to Russia because it’s getting so much of its energy from Russia,” Trump, who was also speaking on camera at the time, told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “We have to talk about the billions and billions of dollars that’s being paid to the country we’re supposed to be protecting you against.”
At the time, according to the CNBC report citing 2016 data, “natural gas accounted for about 20 percent of the fuel it could tap in 2016, according to the latest figures from the International Energy Agency.” Russia also supplied about 40% of Germany’s crude oil and 30% of its foreign coal supplies.
But by 2021, according to the New York Times, Russia was supplying more than half of the natural gas and about a third of all the oil used to heat homes, power factories, and fuel cars, buses and trucks. About half of the country’s coal, a commodity essential to steel manufacturing, also came from Russia.
Germany now faces a recession and a bitter winter with electricity prices soaring to almost €700 per megawatt-hour, coming from €31 in 2020.
Information for this briefing was found via Twitter, CNBC, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
