Trump threatens to cut trade ties with Europe after interest rate hike

TASS

WASHINGTON, September 17. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump said Washington could stop trading with European countries with which the United States has a trade deficit.

"We are carrying European nations with a $200 billion [trade] deficit. All we have to do is say: 'You know what? We are not trading with you anymore.' We do not need anything they have, we have cars, we have lumber, we have food, we have everything," he said while speaking in North Carolina on Wednesday.

Trump had previously suggested that the United States could stop trading with countries with which it has a trade deficit if the Federal Reserve System (the central bank of the United States) does not cut its benchmark interest rate.

Earlier, the US Federal Reserve System, which performs the functions of the country’s central bank, raised its interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.75-4% for the first time in three years, despite threats from Trump, who had called for a rate cut.

Fonte: TASS