BERLIN — Senior German officials reacted today to comments made by President-elect Donald Trump, who said in an interview that NATO was “obsolete” and threatened Germany’s automakers with hefty import taxes.

Trump said in an interview with German daily Bild and The Times of London that German car manufacturers could face tariffs of up to 35 percent if they set up plants in Mexico instead of the U.S. and try to export cars to the U.S. from there.

Such tariffs would make “the American auto industry worse, weaker and more expensive,” Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s economy minister, told Bild.

In his interview, Trump called NATO “obsolete because it wasn’t taking care of terror” and said member organizations aren’t paying their “fair share.”