Stop bashing Trump, Hungary’s foreign minister tells Europe

Eric Feferberg | AFP | Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2nd L) speaks as US President Donald Trump (C) arrives for a family picture during the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit at the NATO headquarters, in Brussels, on May 25, 2017.

Criticizing the U.S. will only backfire on European countries, according to Hungary’s foreign minister, who stressed the need for the EU to stop “bashing” the current administration.

Speaking to CNBC in Paris Thursday, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto described positive engagement as the only way to avoid economic pain brought on by trade tariffs.

“I always urge our friends in the European Union not to play this new sport art which is created which is called bashing (the) United States, you know, because the more our European friends bash the U.S., the more negative impact they will cause with that,” he said.

The Donald Trump administration on Thursday announced that the EU, Canada and Mexico would no longer be exempt from sweeping metals tariffs that impose 25 percent and 10 percent duties on steel and aluminum imports, respectively. EU leaders expressed staunch opposition for the move, and plan retaliatory measures on American goods.

Trump reportedly also has plans to restrict German luxury car imports to the U.S., a prospect that scares the Hungarian minister. The central European country has enjoyed robust investment inflows thanks to its large manufacturing base, particularly in the autos sector, for whom Germany is its biggest export market. The U.S. is Hungary’s largest trading partner outside the EU.