Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel gets a point across to US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Canada on June 10. Friction between the European Union and the Trump administration has since intensified. Photo: Jesco Denzel / Bundesregierung / dpa / for Reuters
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel gets a point across to US President Donald Trump at the G7 summit in Canada on June 10, 2018. Photo: Jesco Denzel/ Bundesregierung/DPA

As a trading partner, the European Union is “possibly as bad as China, only smaller,” US President Donald Trump said in an interview with the right-wing Fox News channel on Sunday.

He said, “They send a Mercedes in, we can’t send our cars in. Look what they do to our farmers. They don’t want our farm products.  Now in all fairness, they have their farmers… But we don’t protect ours and they protect theirs.”

The US leader had already threatened to impose tariffs on cars imported from the EU, in response to the bloc’s retaliatory tariffs last week on popular US products including jeans, bourbon and motorcycles.

The EU’s retaliatory action came after the Trump’s administration hit Europe, Canada and Mexico with tariffs on aluminum and steel on June 1.

Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against American imports, including Florida orange juice, ketchup and bourbon, were due to take effect on July 1.

Trump reiterated in the interview that he is not backing down in his tariffs dispute with China.

“I will tell you, China wants to make a deal and so do I, but it’s got to be a fair deal for this country,” he said.

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