Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Hungary’s government is "grateful" to US President Donald Trump for freezing funds disbursed by US international aid agency USAID "that were the basis of massive political corruption in our country".

"I think it’s fair to say that we’re a tiny minority with this feeling here among European Union governments," Minister Szijjártó said after a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday.

He said it was important that the European Commission do everything possible to avert a trade war, which, he said, would be "extremely harmful for the continent".

Minister Szijjártó said he had put forward a specific proposal at the meeting for easing tariffs on American car imports.

He argued that the automotive sector was the backbone of both economies and accounted for the largest share of transatlantic trade turnover.

"So I proposed that we reduce the tariffs on American car imports to the rate the US imposes on European car imports," the minister said.

"The Americans currently impose a 2.5 percent tariff on European auto sector imports, whereas Europe imposes a 10 percent tariff," Minister Szijjártó said. "And I proposed that we lower this to 2.5 percent. This would provide a sound basis for a foundation of trust between the United States and the European Union for us to be able to pursue normal trade negotiations."