London: Donald Trump called NATO obsolete, predicted that other European Union members would follow the United Kingdom in leaving the bloc, and threatened BMW with import duties over a planned plant in Mexico.
Mr Trump, in an hour-long discussion with Germany's Bild and The Times of London published on Sunday, signalled a major shift in trans-Atlantic relations, including an interest in lifting US sanctions on Russia as part of a nuclear weapons reduction deal.
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Quoted in German by Bild from a conversation held in English, Mr Trump predicted that Britain's exit from the EU will be a success and portrayed the EU as an instrument of German domination designed with the purpose of beating the US in international trade. For that reason, Mr Trump said, he's fairly indifferent to whether the EU stays together, according to Bild.
The Times quoted Mr Trump as saying he was interested in making "good deals with Russia" floating the idea of lifting sanctions that were imposed as the US has sought to punish the Kremlin for its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and military support of the Syrian government.
"They have sanctions on Russia - let's see if we can make some good deals with Russia," Mr Trump said, according to The Times. "For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and reduced very substantially, that's part of it."
Mr Trump's reported comments leave little doubt that he'll stick to campaign positions and may in some cases upend decades of US foreign policy, putting him fundamentally at odds with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on issues from free trade and refugees to security and the EU's role in the world.
Repeating a criticism of NATO he made during his campaign, Mr Trump said that while trans-Atlantic military alliance is important, it "has problems".
"It's obsolete, first because it was designed many, many years ago," Mr Trump said in the Bild version of the interview. "Secondly, countries aren't paying what they should" and NATO "didn't deal with terrorism". The Times quoted Mr Trump saying that only five NATO members are paying their fair share.
![President-elect Donald Trump has given wide-ranging interviews with the German newspaper <i>Bild</i> and <i>The ...](/web/20170118134635im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/r/z/z/t/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtrzwp.png/1484728474306.jpg)
While those comments expanded on doubts Mr Trump expressed about the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation during his campaign, he reserved some of his most dismissive remarks for the EU and Merkel, whose open-border refugee policy he called a "catastrophic mistake".
In contrast, Mr Trump praised Britons for voting in 2016 to leave the EU. People and countries want their own identity and don't want outsiders coming in to "destroy it," he said. Britain is smart to leave the bloc because the EU "is basically a vehicle for Germany", The Times quoted Mr Trump as saying.
![Angela Merkel is seeking a fourth term as German Chancellor.](/web/20170118134635im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/s/5/d/g/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtrzwp.png/1484587409809.jpg)
"If you ask me, more countries will leave," he said.
Merkel responds
German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed back against Mr Trump's criticism of her refugee policy, the European Union and NATO, saying she'll stay the course and keep striving for a strong, united Europe.
"We Europeans have our destiny in our own hands," Ms Merkel told reporters in Berlin on Monday in her first reaction to Mr Trump's comments. "I will continue to work to ensure that the 27 member states work together effectively and, above all, in a forward-looking way," she said, citing fields including the economy, combating terrorism and securing the EU's outer borders.
Ms Merkel said she wouldn't comment on Mr Trump's emerging policy agenda before his inauguration on Friday. Once he's in office, Germany will seek to work with his administration "on all levels," she said.
"He has now set out his positions once again, but they've been known for a while," Ms Merkel said. "My positions are also known."
Germany's Foreign Minister said on Monday the comments that NATO was obsolete had aroused concern across the 28-member alliance.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, speaking after a meeting with alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, said Mr Trump's remarks contradicted views expressed by designated Defense Secretary James Mattis. He spoke also of "amazement".
"I've spoken today not only with EU foreign ministers but NATO foreign ministers as well and can report that the signals are that there's been no easing of tensions," Steinmeier told reporters.
"Obviously the comments from President-elect Trump, that he views NATO as obsolete, were viewed with anxiety," he said.
Trade talks with Britain
Mr Trump told The Times that he plans to quickly pursue a trade deal with Britain after taking office and will meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May soon.
"We're gonna work very hard to get it done quickly and done properly. Good for both sides," he said. "We'll have a meeting right after I get into the White House and it'll be, I think we're gonna get something done very quickly."
While Mr Trump blamed Brexit on an influx of refugees he said that Britain was forced to absorb, Britain's number of asylum applications in 2015 was a fraction of the 890,000 refugees who arrived in Germany that year at the peak of Europe's migrant crisis.
With Ms Merkel facing an unprecedented challenge from the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany as she seeks a fourth term this northern autumn, Ms Trump was asked whether he'd like to see her re-elected. He said he couldn't say, adding that while he respects Ms Merkel, who's been in office for 11 years, he doesn't know her and she has hurt Germany by letting "all these illegals" into the country.
In line with his threats against other automakers, Mr Trump said Bayerische Motoren Werke AG would face a 35 per cent import duty for foreign-built BMW cars sold in the US. BMW should scrap plans to open a new plant in Mexico and build the factory in the US instead, he was quoted as saying. BMW plans to start building 3 Series cars at San Luis Potos in 2019 and close its South African plant. BMW already has a factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, employing 8000 people to produce so-called sports activity vehicles.
Mr Trump also said that George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq may have been the worst in US history.
He mused that Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, is a natural talent who will bring about peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mr Trump said he plans to keep using social media, including Twitter, once he's in the White House to sidestep the press and communicate directly with his followers.
He asserted that people entering the US will face "extreme" security checks, possibly including some European nationals.
Bloomberg