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In a conversation that foreshadowed the fractures that emerged at this weekend’s tense G-7 meeting, President Donald Trump reportedly told French President Emmanuel Macron in April that he viewed the EU as “worse than China” when it came to trade issues.
According to a report by Axios on Sunday, the conversation took place at the White House on April 24, during Macron’s state visit. When Macron suggested working together on trade to resolve the “China problem,” Trump reportedly said the European Union was a worse problem, and “then went on a rant about Germany and cars.”
Trump has railed against German auto imports in recent months, at one point reportedly seeking to impose a total ban on German luxury cars. The Trump administration has also threatened tariffs of as much as 25% on auto imports.
Ahead of the G-7 meeting in Canada, Trump overstated the U.S. trade deficit with the EU. On Thursday, Trump tweeted that the EU had a $151 billion trade surplus with the U.S. While the EU had a $153 billion surplus in goods in 2017, the true surplus was $101 billion when services were included.