--- title: Donald Trump Calls for Energy Dominance, Not Independence description: President Trump has scrapped the idea of energy independence line in favor of what he calls "energy dominance." canonical: https://time.com/4839884/energy-dominance-energy-independence-donald-trump/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-30T00:07:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:23:23.502Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Says He Wants 'Energy Dominance.' What Does He Mean? og:description: Instead of energy independence og:url: https://time.com/4839884/energy-dominance-energy-independence-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e04b9fdd7f22b8e/6988d40e22fb859c72e21ccc/donald-trump-energy-dominance.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: donald trump energy dominance og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Says He Wants 'Energy Dominance.' What Does He Mean? twitter:description: Instead of energy independence twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6e04b9fdd7f22b8e/6988d40e22fb859c72e21ccc/donald-trump-energy-dominance.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Says He Wants 'Energy Dominance.' What Does He Mean? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jun 30, 2017 12:07 AM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the Unleashing American Energy event at the Department of Energy on June 29 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the Unleashing American Energy event at the Department of Energy on June 29 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Jun 30, 2017 12:07 AM UTC U.S. presidents have promoted the idea of [American “energy independence”](http://time.com/4624001/energy-independent-crude-oil/?iid=sr-link1) for decades as a solution to the geopolitical issues that led to volatile energy prices — meaning the U.S. would produce enough energy to supply itself without having to rely on foreign exports. President Trump has scrapped that line in favor of what he calls “energy dominance.” In Trump’s vision, the U.S. should become a net exporter of energy and use those resources as a vehicle for economic growth. His plan for “energy dominance” also means using the country’s resource — particularly liquified natural gas, or LNG — as a bargaining chip in the international arena to provide energy security to allies. “Our country is blessed with extraordinary energy abundance,” Trump said at a speech at the Department of Energy Thursday. “These energy exports will create countless jobs for our people, and provide true energy security.” Key to “energy dominance,” in Trump’s view, are a slew of initiatives aimed at speeding up production of oil, natural gas and coal, all of which Trump has made centerpieces of his presidency. Trump has described his policies as a dramatic shift in direction from the Obama years, described on Thursday as “eight years of hell” that included “massive job-killing barriers to American energy development.” Trump cited his lifting of a moratorium on a new coal leasing on federal land, withdrawing from the [Paris Agreement on climate change](http://time.com/4146764/paris-agreement-climate-cop-21/) and targeting [Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations](http://time.com/4718023/trump-aim-obama-climate-legacy/) as key moves to make that shift. Oil, gas and coal interest groups have praised most of Trump’s moves as significant boons to their industry. But the U.S. has experienced an energy renaissance of sorts in the past decade thanks largely to an oil and gas boom that followed advances in hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking. At the same time, coal production has declined as it struggled to compete with the price of natural gas and renewables. President Obama helped foster some oil and gas development, approving crude oil exports and simplifying the process of exporting LNG, while also implementing regulation like rules on methane emissions and targeting projects like the Keystone XL pipeline. Indeed, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) [predicted](http://time.com/4624001/energy-independent-crude-oil/?iid=sr-link1) in January before Trump’s inauguration that the U.S. would become a net energy exporter by 2026\. “Yes, the U.S. could be completely, I think the phrase used at one time was energy independent,” said EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski in a press conference. Trump’s new measures — announced Thursday as part of Energy Week — are relatively modest and unlikely to reshape significantly current industry dynamics even if they do contribute to the bottomline of some energy companies. In his speech, Trump said the U.S. would approve an additional natural gas terminal, opening of some offshore drilling and a new oil pipeline to Mexico. The current administration has also touted the role LNG exports can play in relations around the world. More robust distribution of U.S. natural gas can help protect allies from reliance on Russia, administration officials said this week. “We are in a position to be able to clearly create a hell of a lot more friends by being able to deliver to them energy,” said Energy Secretary Rick Perry before Trumps remarks. “And not being held hostage by some countries, Russia in particular.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4839884/energy-dominance-energy-independence-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4839884/energy-dominance-energy-independence-donald-trump/"},"headline":"President Trump Says He Wants 'Energy Dominance.' 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