Can US LNG help Europe avoid a Trump trade war?

The head of the European Commission said Friday that importing more American natural gas into Europe could help stave off a trade war, drawing applause from the U.S. gas industry.

President Ursula von der Leyen said liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is a “common interest” as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in Washington.

The supercooled gas already came up on a phone call last week between Trump and von der Leyen, she said. Von der Leyen called Friday for using engagement and negotiation as well as common ground to deter U.S. trade tariffs in the European Union.

“We still get a lot of LNG via Russia, from Russia,” von der Leyen said, adding, “And why not replace it by American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices?”