Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has said the new US trade policy may violate the military blocs economic commitments

Recently imposed US tariffs could breach NATO's founding principles by undermining economic cooperation among allies, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has said. He raised the issue during the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on Thursday, public broadcaster NRK has reported.

The official reportedly pointed to Article 2 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which commits members to strengthen economic ties to foster peace and stability within the alliance.

"If you want a strong NATO, you should ensure that there is as much economic growth as possible in the NATO countries," NKR quoted him as saying.

"That was the insight of those who established NATO, that economic cooperation would be good for the entire alliance," the diplomat added.

According to the outlet, Eide raised the matter directly with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the meeting, saying "We must be clear that protectionist measures between allies are a serious problem."

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariff increases on numerous trading partners, including NATO countries. Norway is among those affected, facing a 15% duty on selected exports to the United States.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told NKR on Thursday that Oslo would seek to negotiate with the US over the tariffs.

"This is bad news, it is very serious," Store said. "There is an opening for negotiations here, the Americans say, and we will use that in every possible way that we can," he added.

Trump's announcement has sparked concern across the EU, with several NATO allies voicing fears that the tariffs could harm both trade and alliance unity. French President Emmanuel Macron has called the tariffs "brutal and unfounded," and warned that retaliation could include a digital tax on American tech companies.

(RT.com)