Germany’s economy thrives at the expense of US taxpayers: Peter Navarro

White House National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro told FOX Business’ Lou Dobbs that Germany’s auto tariffs and lack of defense spending is a tremendous problem for Europe and the United States.

“What Germany needs to do is spend more on the defense of the continent with us, and what it also needs to do is invest more and buy more from people that are on that continent in other countries and be a better citizen,” Navarro said on Wednesday.

The U.S. taxpayer has carried the financial burden for far too long while Germany and the rest of Europe invest more in the private sector and grow their own economies, according to Navarro.

“Not only are they not carrying their weight on defense, it hurts us economically when they do that,” he said on “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” “What's more surprising is the fact that President Trump is calling them out on that or that previously, presidents haven’t.”

Navarro said the U.S. trade deficit in manufactured goods with Europe totaled $151 trillion in 2017, and Germany bares the responsibility of half of the trade deficit.

“It’s no surprise that President Trump is focusing on Germany because Germany is a big part of this unfair, nonreciprocal, unbalanced trade relationship we have with so many countries in the world,” he said.