Donald Trump appeared to threaten trade with the EU in Sunday’s interview with Piers Morgan on ITV.
The EU responded swiftly to Trump, who said that he had many problems with the EU and that it could “morph into something big” on trade.
“For us, trade policy is not a zero-sum game, it is not about winners and losers,” said a European Commission spokesperson on Monday.
“We here in the European Union believe that trade can and should be win-win. We also believe that while trade has to be open and fair it has also to be rules-based.
“The European Union stands ready to react swiftly and appropriately in case our exports are affected by any restrictive trade measures from the United States.”
Trump used the ITV interview broadcast on Sunday to say: “I’ve had a lot of problems with European Union, and it may morph into something very big from that standpoint, from a trade standpoint,”
“We cannot get our product in. It’s very, very tough. And yet they send their product to us – no taxes, very little taxes. It’s very unfair.
“They’re not the only one, by the way. I could name many countries and places that do. But the European Union has been very, very unfair to the United States. And I think it will turn out to be very much to their detriment.”
Trump also took his interview with Piers Morgan to express his concerns about the 2015 Paris climate agreement, as well as comment on Theresa May’s approach to Brexit.
The US President said that he would have handled Brexit very differently to the UK government.
“I have a lot of respect for your prime minister, and I think they’re doing a job. I think I would have negotiated it differently. I would have had a different attitude,” he told Morgan.