The European Union (EU) is looking at ways to make it easier for US gas exports to comply with its methane emissions rules, as the bloc attempts to avert a trade war with US President Donald Trump, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, the latter reports.

The European Commission of the EU is working on its offer for trade negotiations with the United States, to attempt to avoid Trump's planned tariffs—with both sides signaling that energy could form part of a broader trade deal.

As part of the energy options being explored to aid trade talks with the US, the Commission is looking at using flexibilities in how it applies EU methane rules, which could benefit US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters, the sources said

The aim would be to avoid weakening the overall law, while introducing technical rules that could enable US exporters to be deemed to be following "equivalent" methane rules to those of the EU, and therefore automatically comply with the EU law, they said.

Starting this year, the EU requires importers of oil and gas to Europe to monitor and report the methane emissions associated with those imports.