Jeroen Dijsselbloem has named the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president and Brexit as the chief external threats facing the eurozone, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Friday.

Dijsselbloem who is Dutch finance minister and chairman of the Eurogroup of 19 eurozone finance ministers, sounded the alarm on the eve of the meeting between Trump and UK prime minister Teresa May, the FD said.

Dijsselbloem is a firm backer of free trade, ‘We must continue to strive for open markets to obtain higher growth, job creation and a higher standard of living,’ Dijsselbloem said after the first Eurogroup meeting since Trump took office on January 20.

Dijsselbloem urged his EU colleagues to avoid protectionism and to continue to work for free trade. ‘There are a lot of opportunities. The Commission is working on free trade agreements with countries in Asia and Latin America. But the relationship with the US is under pressure. This should be taken as a warning to the US,’ Dijsselbloem said.

Brexit

Meanwhile, Dutch exporters lobby group Evofenedex says the British decision to pull out of the EU is already having an impact on Dutch firms.

The organisation has opened a hotline for members to report problems after several came forward saying orders had been delayed because of the uncertainty.

Britain is the Netherlands third biggest trade partner, the organisation said.