A statement by US President-elect Donald Trump that Nato is “obsolete” has caused “worry” in the alliance, Germany’s foreign minister has said.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier said it was a contradiction of comments made days ago by Mr Trump’s incoming defence chief.
In an interview in New York, Mr Trump also said Germany’s Angela Merkel made “a catastrophic mistake” by admitting more than one million migrants.
And he threatened German car makers with high import tariffs.
Companies including BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler have invested in factories in Mexico, where costs are cheaper, with an eye to exporting into the US market.
But Mr Trump said: “I would tell them to not waste their time and money unless they want to sell to other countries. That would be ok, if you want to build in Mexico.
“I would tell BMW, if you want to build a factory in Mexico and sell cars to the US without paying a 35% tax, forget it.”
Mr Trump was giving details of his foreign policy goals in an interview with British and German newspapers, the Times and Bild, at Trump Tower in New York.
On Nato, Mr Trump reiterated his criticism that “a lot of” the 28 member states were not paying their fair share.
He said the alliance had been forged “many, many years ago”, adding: “It’s obsolete because it wasn’t taking care of terror.
“And the other thing is the countries aren’t paying their fair share so we’re supposed to protect countries. But a lot of these countries aren’t paying what they’re supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the United States.”
In an apparent contradiction, Mr Trump then said Nato was “very important” to him.
Speaking later in Brussels, Mr Steinmeier said the president-elect’s comments had caused “worry and concern”.
“I’ve just had a conversation with the Secretary-General of Nato, Jens Stoltenberg, who has expressed concern at the comments made by Donald Trump that Nato is obsolete,” he said.
“This is in contradiction with what the American defence minister said in his hearing in Washington only some days ago and we have to see what will be the consequences for American policy.”
At his Senate confirmation hearing last week, Mr Trump’s choice for defence secretary, Gen James Mattis, described Nato as central to US defence.
And he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to “break” the alliance.
A Kremlin spokesman said on Monday that Russia agreed with Mr Trump’s evaluation of Nato, particularly that it had become obsolete, Russian news agency Interfax said.
Mr Trump described German Chancellor Angela Merkel as Europe’s most important leader, but said that the EU had become a vehicle for Germany.
He also said Mrs Merkel had made “one very catastrophic mistake” by admitting more than one million migrants and refugees.
Mr Trump linked the migrant issue with Brexit – the UK referendum vote to leave the EU.
“I do believe this, if they [EU countries] hadn’t been forced to take in all of the refugees, so many, with all the problems that it . . . entails, I think that you wouldn’t have a Brexit.
“It probably could have worked out but this was the final straw, this was the final straw that broke the camel’s back.”
He repeated his vow to be tough on immigration into the US.
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