Trump Raises European Union Auto Tariffs to 25%
Donald Trump said the european union would face 25% tariffs on cars and trucks imported into the United States, telling reporters outside the White House that his administration was raising the duties because the bloc was not adhering to the trade deal. Trump tied the move to factories, saying some European companies are building plants in the United States.
“We have a trade deal with the European Union. They were not adhering to it. So I raised the tariffs on cars and trucks to 25% – that’s billions of dollars coming into the United States, and it forces them to move their factory production much faster.”
White House tariff move
Trump also said, “We raised the tariffs on cars coming in from the European Union because the European Union was not adhering to the trade deal we have.” In the same exchange, Trump said, “But we raised the tariffs because they were not, as usual, they were not adhering to the agreement that we have.”
Trump said, “there won’t be any tariffs” when those European companies’ plants open in the United States. That leaves the immediate pressure on current imports, not on production already shifted to U.S. soil.
August deal with Brussels
The move lands on top of a deal the United States and the European Union reached in August to lower earlier duties to a net 15%, inclusive of prior duties. In exchange, the European Union agreed to eliminate duties on U.S. industrial goods, including autos, and accept U.S. safety and emissions standards on vehicles.
Trump last year imposed a 25% tariff on global automotive imports under a national security trade law. EU lawmakers advanced legislation in March to implement the tariff reductions, but the EU tariff-reduction process was not expected to be completed before June.
Bernd Lange response
Bernd Lange, chairman of the EU parliament’s trade committee, said, “President Trump’s behaviour is unacceptable.” Lange added, “This latest move demonstrates just how unreliable the US side is.”
Lange also said, “We have already witnessed these arbitrary attacks from the US in the case of Greenland; this is no way to treat close partners.”
A Trump administration official told that “The EU has not complied with the autos deal after eight months.” That dispute over compliance now sits beside Trump’s sharper tariff threat, leaving European carmakers facing a higher U.S. import duty while the August deal remains unfinished in Brussels.
