During meetings with EU leaders, US President Donald Trump threatened to curb the sale of millions of German cars in the US. In comments leaked to German press he said Germany was acting in a bad way.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Wagner
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While in Brussels Thursday US President Donald Trump told European leaders that Germany was being unfair with its trade arrangements, German media reported on Thursday.
Having shown little love for the alliance during the presidential campaign, all eyes at this week's NATO summit were on President Donald Trump. The president wasted no time before haranguing allies over defense spending.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Dunand
America first!
US President Donald Trump welcomes Montenegro to the military alliance by appearing to shove Prime Minister Dusko Markovic in order to secure a front row berth. Montenegro will formally join NATO next month, although it may already feel pressured to increase its military spending, which currently stands at 1.6 percent of GDP.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/NATO TV
Trump berates allies' spending
The president was invited to unveil NATO's new 9/11 memorial. However, instead of using his speech to play up unity, Trump scolded allies for owing "massive amounts of money" to the US and NATO. Members have set a 2 percent of GDP defense spending "guideline," although the contributions are supposed to be voluntary.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/K. Ozer
Leaders struggle to keep a straight face
Trump's 10-minute tirade on defense spending appeared to be greeted with snickering and eye-rolling. An illustration of America's new standing in the world?
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
Slamming the brakes on German car sales
Leaked comments obtained by German media reveal that Trump told European leaders that Germany was being unfair with its trade arrangements and decried its surplus. "The Germans are bad, very bad," German weekly Der Spiegel quoted Trump as saying. "Look at the millions of cars they sell in the US. Terrible! We'll stop that."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
Handshake diplomacy
Trump met with France's newly elected president, Emmanuel Macron, at the US ambassador's Brussels residence. As a life-long businessman, Trump's handshakes are seen as one of his key power moves. Palms dried and jaws clenched, Macron didn't appear prepared to grant him that victory as the leaders embarked on what's been coined "the world's longest handshake."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/K.Zihnioglu
Not-so-special relationship
British Prime Minister Theresa May is reported to have voiced her anger and dismay after US officials leaked details over the identity of the Manchester suicide bomber. The leak led British authorities to halt intelligence-sharing with the US for around 24 hours. The breech also comes just weeks after Trump himself divulged secret intelligence to senior Russian emissaries.
Image: Getty Images/J.Tallis
Glaring omission
If Trump had sought to assure allies of his commitment to NATO, neglecting to affirm Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty - which stipulates that members treat an attack against one ally as an attack against all - wouldn't have helped. Perhaps surprisingly, however, the president did mention the Russian threat on NATO's eastern border.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Dunand
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Trump reportedly made it clear that the reduction of the US trade deficit was a high priority for him, during a meeting with the President of the EU Council Donald Tusk and President of the EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. Other EU leaders joined the meeting later.
"If you want to build cars in the world, then I wish you all the best. You can build cars for the United States, but for every car that comes to the USA, you will pay 35 percent tax," Trump told German tabloid "Bild" in January in remarks translated into German.
"I would tell BMW that if you are building a factory in Mexico and plan to sell cars to the USA, without a 35 percent tax, then you can forget that," Trump said.
In March Trump signed executive orders to initiate a large-scale review of the causes of the American trade deficits with some of its largest trading partners - including China and Germany - and order stricter enforcement of US anti-dumping laws to prevent foreign manufacturers from undercutting US companies by selling goods at an unfair price.
In public comments after Thursday's meeting Tusk said the two sides agreed on a number of issues and reaffirmed counter-terrorism cooperation, but clashed on others.
