Poland Expresses Gratitude for U.S. Natural Gas Exports

U.S. natural gas exports are not only good for the American economy, they are also good for foreign relations. Just ask Poland’s ambassador to the United States, Piotr Wilczek.

Writing in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Wilczek gushed about American liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to his nation.

“America’s renewed interest in our region is also visible in last month’s delivery of American liquefied natural gas to Poland. Central and Eastern Europe have long been dominated by an energy monopoly left over from the Cold War era. We no longer have to be victims of geopolitics,” said Wilczek.

“We look toward our American partners for continued LNG gas exports,” Wilczek added.

Each of the six nations importing the most natural gas are U.S. allies. Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom, South Korea, and France top the list of nations importing natural gas. Currently, Russia and Qatar lead the world in natural gas exports. Neither nation could be described as a close ally.

Money sent by our allies to Russia and Qatar to purchase natural gas props up antagonistic governments. Our allies’ dependence on Russian and Qatar for vital natural gas resources also poses serious threats to our allies’ ability to retain solidarity with us in the face of Russian and Qatari foreign aggression.

While wind and solar power supporters often talk about the national security benefits of home-grown wind and solar power, we can’t export wind and solar. We can, however, utilize natural gas for domestic power and foreign export. Nations like Poland have expressed their gratitude for U.S. natural gas imports. American policymakers would be wise to remove roadblocks to U.S. natural gas exports and reap the foreign relations benefits of more natural gas exports to our global allies.