EU was born to ‘screw’ US, says Trump

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the European Union was born to “screw” the United States, laying bare his hostility to the longtime US partner as he detailed new tariffs.

“Look, let´s be honest, the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States,” Trump told reporters as he gathered his cabinet for the first time. “That´s the purpose of it, and they´ve done a good job of it. But now I´m president,” Trump said.

The United States for decades cheered on European integration, seeing the formation of the European Union in 1993 as a historic achievement to end conflict on a continent ravaged by two world wars.

Trump applauded Britain when it left the European Union and has taken a strident “America First” policy, vowing to pursue self-interest above any abstract concepts of partnership.

Trump said at his cabinet meeting that the European Union has “really taken advantage of us.” The United States had a trade deficit to the 27-nation bloc of $235.6 billion last year, according to official US figures.

Asked if he had made a decision on tariff levels for the European Union, Trump added: “We´ll be announcing it very soon and it´ll be 25 percent, generally speaking.”

He said that cars would be among the products to be hit -- grim news for Germany whose export-driven economy has been in a slump.

Trump has also slapped tariffs on US neighbours Canada and Mexico as well as rival China, citing issues including illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling.

Trump, who has made the deportation of mostly non-Western undocumented immigrants a top priority, acknowledged his origins in Europe, saying wryly: “I guess I´m from there at some point a long time ago, right?”