"The EU will react firmly and immediately against unjustified barriers to free and fair trade, including when tariffs are used to challenge legal and non-discriminatory policies," a commission spokesperson said in response to a request for comment on Trump's remarks.

Speaking during his first cabinet meeting, the US president said: “The European Union was formed in order to screw the United States, that’s the purpose of it. And they’ve done a good job of it. But now I’m president.