The US will be less and less interested in the EU and UK in the coming years, the French president has warned

Western Europe must work to obtain strategic independence from the US because Washington will be disengaging from the continent as part of its 'America first' policy, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. He commented on the future of European-American relations in an interview with French broadcaster TF1 on Tuesday.

Since the start of his second term, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly blasted the EU and UK for being "terrible freeloaders," accusing them of not contributing enough into NATO and "ripping off" America through unfair trade practices.

Last month, he said he would not even rule out withdrawing some or all of the 84,000 American troops currently stationed in Europe since Washington is not getting "reimbursed by much" for footing the bill for the continent's security.

Macron told reporters that "we know that American interests will be less and less [focused] in Europe" in the coming years.

According to the French president, he and other Western European leaders "have known this for about 15 years."

The signs of the US disengagement have been visible "since the US decided not to go into Syria with us, since they unilaterally withdrew from Afghanistan, and since what we have been experiencing in recent months," he explained.

"It is 'America first,' and it is legitimate," Macron said of the policies pursued by the Trump administration.

In such circumstances, it would be "irresponsible" if the region fails to gain strategic independence from the US within the next five to ten years, he stressed.

Trump's latest attack on the EU came on Monday when he said that the bloc was "in many ways nastier than China." The US President insisted that "they sell us 13 million cars; we sell them none. They sell us their agricultural products; we sell them virtually none," adding that Brussels has also been "suing all our companies... Apple, Google, Meta."

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In early April, Washington imposed a sweeping 20% tariff on all EU goods and a 25% tariff on all car imports and metals. While Trump later announced a 90-day reprieve on most trade duties, a baseline 10% tariff and the aforementioned 25% tariff remain in force until an agreement on the issue is reached between the sides.

(RT.com)