"No… Excuse me, the European Union is possibly as bad as China, only smaller. It is terrible what they do to us. Take a look at a car situation. They send us Mercedes. We can't send our cars. And look what they do to our farmers. They do not want our farm products," Trump said in an interview to Fox News.
Trump stressed that the US trade deficit with the European Union was $150 billion. He, however, added that he "loved" the European Union.
"I love those countries, Germany, and all of the countries, Scotland…. But they treat us very badly. They treat us very unfairly," he added, noting that his parents were born in Europe.
The president's statement comes amid a major row not only between the transatlantic partners but also between the US and China over trade issues. Trump has repeatedly stated that other states "took advantage" of the United States by maintaining tariffs on US products.
A threat of the looming trade war emerged when the United States in March imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. Though the tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union, as well as several other states, were initially suspended, on May 31, Washington had removed the exemption.
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The EU heavily criticized Washington's move and in response, unanimously approved a set of retaliatory tariffs against the US trade duties, including those on whiskey and motorcycles.
In May, the US proposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods under an intellectual property probe. China vowed to implement its own retaliatory tariffs on US goods, including soybeans and aircraft, if the US duties are imposed.
