Calling EU a US foe is 'fake news': Tusk barb at Trump

BRUSSELS: EU President Donald Tusk suggested that US President Donald Trump was "spreading fake news" by calling Europe a US foe and urged the Trump-Putin summit on Monday to protect the world order.

Trump said the European Union was a foe in trade while also calling Russia and China foes in some respects, before his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

"America and the EU are best friends. Whoever says we are foes is spreading fake news," Tusk tweeted late Sunday during an EU-China summit in Beijing, without naming Trump directly.

Trump often uses the term "fake news" when he disagrees with news reports.

"Europe and China, America and Russia, today in Beijing and in Helsinki, are jointly responsible for improving the world order, not for destroying it," Tusk said in a separate tweet.

"I hope this message reaches Helsinki," the former Polish premier added.

Tusk echoed broader fears that Trump is tearing down the post World War II order in which the United States built a system of alliances and rules to advance peace and prosperity.

Trump told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday that "I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade."

The US president also renewed accusations that the European Union was taking advantage of the United States in trade.

The Trump administration has slapped tariffs on steel and aluminium from Europe as well as on products from Mexico, Canada and China, sparking retaliation and fears of a trade war.

Tusk warned in Beijing that the trade tensions could spiral into a "hot conflict."

During last week's NATO summit in Brussels, Trump denounced European allies for falling short on NATO spending commitments, fuelling fears about his commitment to the transatlantic alliance.

In the runup to the summit, Tusk delivered a blunt message to Trump to stop criticising European allies.

"The US doesn't have and won't have a better ally than the EU. We spend on defence much more than Russia and as much as China," Tusk said. "Dear America, appreciate your allies, after all you don't have that many."