SIGN UP! If you’d like to continue receiving Washington Examiner’s Daily on Energy newsletter, SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://newsletters.washingtonexaminer.com/newsletter/daily-on-energy/

TRUMP VOWS TO BE STRONG ‘COMPETITOR’ WITH RUSSIAN ENERGY: President Trump said Monday that the U.S. is poised to be Russia’s top rival when it comes to supplying natural gas to Europe.

Trump said U.S. energy exports will compete directly with Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline to deliver natural gas via Germany.

“We will be competing when you talk about the pipeline,” said Trump, noting that the U.S. is now the “largest” producer of oil and natural gas.

A ‘captive’: President Trump made headlines last week when he accused Germany of being a “captive” of Russian energy because of its agreement with pipeline.

“Germany, as far I’m concerned, is captive to Russia,” Trump said in Brussels last week. “So we’re supposed to protect Germany, but they’re getting their energy from Russia.”

Energy competitors: Trump has been actively pushing for European countries to diversify their energy supplies away from Russia and toward the United States when it comes to natural gas.

Pipeline pushback: The biggest illustration of this is Trump’s public opposition to Russia’s construction of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline that will feed Europe natural gas via Germany. But as European leaders approached Trump in Washington in recent weeks, the U.S. president’s message has been about “energy diversification.”

Net nat gas: Now that the U.S. is a net natural gas exporter, Trump wants to increase energy exports. But at the same time his push for more energy exports could be undermined by the pushback he is receiving from countries retaliating against the tariffs he has newly imposed.

Pushback: The United States launched separate disputes at the World Trade Organization on Monday against China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico and Turkey.

‘Wholly legitimate’: “The actions taken by the President are wholly legitimate and fully justified as a matter of U.S. law and international trade rules,” said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. “Instead of working with us to address a common problem, some of our trading partners have elected to respond with retaliatory tariffs designed to punish American workers, farmers and companies.”

Welcome to Daily on Energy, compiled by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers John Siciliano (@JohnDSiciliano) and Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe). Email [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list.

TRUMP’S ‘MISPLACED’ TRADE POLICY IS RISKY FOR ENERGY MARKET AND MIDTERMS, SAYS DONOR: Dan Eberhart, a Trump donor and oil services CEO, says the biggest hurdles for U.S. energy stem from Trump’s “disruptor” trade policies. “I’m a supporter of Trump, in general, but I think the trade policy is misplaced,” Eberhart told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “I think that Trump is a disruptor, and that’s how he’s had success in the past, and that’s how he’s intending to have success in the future.”

Trump’s tariffs: Trump has leveled a number of tariffs targeting specific manufactured goods from China, as well as other tariffs applied more broadly on steel and aluminum. Those measures have spurred retaliatory measures by China and the European Union, sparking concerns over a prolonged trade war.

‘Why risk it’? “The economy is going well, why risk it ahead of the midterms with all this destabilizing trade stuff,” he said. “Just as an American, that’s what I feel like.”

Trump’s tariff effects: Eberhart’s firm, Canary, one of the top producers of oil well equipment in the country, is being affected by the president’s tariff policies in two ways.

“Number one, our supply chain,” Eberhart said. “I sense a reluctance to take increased volume by our suppliers in China. They’re not saying no, but they’re less eager to take more of our work.”

It’s a four to eight-month wait once they order new products, which can be a problem if demand for wellhead equipment is increasing, which it has.

No. 2: “The second thing that is happening is just the general market,” he said. “We do stuff for oil companies, and the oil is sold on the domestic and international market. Right now, about a quarter of U.S. oil is sold to the export market, and about 20 percent of that is going to China.”

Market ‘at risk’: But that export market is “more and more at risk every day,” as China looks to retaliate against Trump’s tariffs by shifting away from U.S. crude oil and placing 25 percent tariffs on petroleum.

China is the biggest: “China is the biggest customer and the most desirable market worldwide from an importer basis,” Eberhart said. “A lot of people are nervous as they’ve developed China as a customer. How is that going to play? You’ve already seen at least one refinery switch from U.S. crude to Iranian crude in China.”

TRUMP EYES US OIL RESERVE TO LOWER PRICES AT THE PUMP: The Trump administration may tap into the nation’s emergency oil supply to stop the rise of gasoline prices and potential pain at the pump from increasing ahead of congressional midterms.

Markets react: News rippled through the markets over the weekend, sending the price of oil lower on Monday morning from the three-year high it hit last month.

No decision, yet: News broke Friday that Trump was considering tapping the 660-million-barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but no decision has been made yet.

Range of options: Trump is considering a range of options, from releasing five-million barrels for a test sale to a much larger 30-million-barrel release, said sources that requested anonymity to discuss non-public deliberations. They added that a larger release may be possible if coordinated with other nations.

Gasoline prices march upward: The average retail price of regular gasoline continued to rise after the July 4 holiday, moving upward one cent last week to $2.86 per gallon on July 9, which is a 56-cent increase from last July, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

HOUSE TO VOTE ON RESOLUTION OPPOSING CARBON TAX: The House is expected to vote later this week on a non-binding resolution against imposing a tax on carbon dioxide emissions.

On the list: The resolution was placed on a list of bills on Friday to be taken up this week on the floor.

Scalise’s idea: The resolution was introduced by House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, and Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va. It expresses the “sense of Congress” that a tax on carbon dioxide emissions “would be detrimental to American families and businesses, and is not in the best interest of the United States.”

Conservative push for CO2 tax: The resolution is coming up as a number of conservative, free-market, and libertarian groups have been backing a carbon tax as a Republican answer to address climate change.

Pushing carbon tax: Groups like the R-Street Institute, Niskanen Center, and others have been pushing the benefits of a carbon tax as a market-based solution to address the issue of climate change.

Grover: Others like Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, have opposed the idea of a carbon tax as neither conservative or a free market idea.

EPA HOLDS PUBLIC HEARINGS ON SCIENCE RULE, ETHANOL MANDATE: The Environmental Protection Agency is busy holding public hearings this week on major regulations covering its new rule on treating scientific analysis, and the Renewable Fuel Standard.

The Environmental Protection Agency will hold an all-day public hearing on its controversial rule to improve scientific input on regulations on Tuesday in Washington.

Protests: The hearing should bring up strong rhetoric against the rule, which critics say will undermine the scientific basis of environmental regulations.

EPA will also hold a public hearing in Michigan on Wednesday on its proposed rule for the ‘‘Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Standards for 2019 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2020.’’

CLEAN ENERGY GROUP BACKS UPTON’S BID FOR RE-ELECTION: The conservative clean energy group ClearPath Action Fund announced Monday that it is endorsing Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., for reelection. Upton, the former chairman on the Energy and Commerce Committee, has been an influential voice on energy policy.

‘Accomplished record’: “Fred has an accomplished record of shepherding many bills hitting every facet of clean energy innovation,” said Jay Faison, founder of the ClearPath Action Fund. “His veteran leadership is needed as the U.S. continues to hurdle obstacles in the global clean energy race.”

Six figures for Upton: Faison’s group will soon start running digital ads as part of a six-figure effort backing his reelection.

What is conservative clean energy? The group endorses nuclear, clean coal, natural gas, hydro-electric, and innovative technologies, leaving out solar and wind, as part of a conservative clean energy standard.

Tax credits for coal: Upton has endorsed legislation in support of all these energy types, including new tax credits for coal plants designed to limited carbon dioxide emissions. The credits were passed into law in February.

RUNDOWN

Axios More energy lobbying groups formed under Trump

Wall Street Journal Saudi oil firm seeks to protect market share from U.S. utilities

Market Watch Oil prices fall ahead of Trump summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin

Guardian  UK politicians ‘failing to rise to the challenge of climate change’

Baltimore Sun Mussels return to Maryland waters

New York Times op-ed: guessing energy trends