Many countries officially considered allies of the United States are not actually friends of Washington, said US President Donald Trump.
“Many of our allies are not our friends. Our allies have benefited more from trade with us than China“, he said in an interview with Fox News.
Trump admitted that the French leadership does not treat his country better than China.
In front of Fox News, he reiterated that the US government will not interfere with Chinese students coming to study in the United States. “I want to get along with the world“, he said. In response, the host noted that the Chinese "are not the French," claiming that the Chinese government "conducts surveillance" and "steals intellectual property" from the United States.
"And you think the French are better? Really? I would say I wouldn't be so sure. We have a lot of problems with the French; they have unfairly taxed our technology, they have put a 25 percent tax on American goods," Trump replied.
"I think everybody treats the United States badly. A lot of allies have benefited a lot more from trade with the United States than they have from trade with China," Trump noted.
He confirmed that the United States is working with Switzerland to reduce the 39 percent tariff previously imposed. However, Trump effectively denied Bloomberg reports that the U.S. tariff rate on Switzerland would be 15 percent. "No, I haven't set a number," the US administration chief said. "But we're going to work on something to help Switzerland. We hit Switzerland very hard. We're working on rate adjustments. And also on others to increase them a little bit," the president stressed. He did not specify which countries might face further increases in US import tariffs.
Trump also vowed again to use some of the funds collected by the US government from the tariff increases to pay down the national debt. "We're going to reduce our national debt; "This is a matter of national security," the White House president said.
The president reiterated his view that if the US Supreme Court were to sharply limit the president's authority to impose import tariffs, the country would face "an economic and national security catastrophe."
He previously wrote on his Truth Social page that the US administration would have to return over $2 trillion to foreign governments if the US Supreme Court were to limit his authority to impose import tariffs.
Trump threatened to punish air traffic controllers who walked off duty due to the partial government shutdown.
„All air traffic controllers must return to work immediately!!! "Anyone who fails to do so will be severely fined," the US president wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also said he would recommend a $10,000 bonus be awarded to those air traffic controllers who remain on duty despite the lack of pay due to the shutdown.
On November 10, Reuters reported that more than 2,700 flights had been canceled and more than 10,000 had been delayed due to a shortage of air traffic controllers amid the US federal government shutdown.