WASHINGTON — President Trump announced Friday he would soon raise tariffs from 15% to 25% on vehicles imported from the European Union, claiming the bloc was non-compliant with its US trade deal.
“I am pleased to announce that, based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal, next week I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks coming into the United States,” he said in a post to Truth Social.
Trump did not elaborate on or specify his issues with the 27-member union, though he has sparred with several European heads of government over the US war with Iran in recent weeks.
Companies that build vehicles in the United States will be exempt from the tariff, the president added in his post.
Follow The Post’s live coverage of President Trump and national politics for the latest news and analysis
“Many Automobile and Truck Plants are currently under construction, with over 100 Billion Dollars being invested, A RECORD in the History of Car and Truck Manufacturing,” Trump claimed.
“These Plants, staffed with American Workers, will be opening soon — There has never been anything like what is happening in America today!”
Before departing the White House for Florida Friday afternoon, Trump told reporters that he hoped the new higher tariff would push automakers “to move their factory production much faster” to the US.
Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to a trade deal in July 2025 at the president’s Turnberry resort in Scotland that set a tariff ceiling of 15% on most goods — including automobiles — after the White House imposed a 27.5% rate on vehicle exports from the continent that April.
Separately, the administration imposed 25% rates on vehicles and certain auto parts from the rest of the word last year, citing national security risks.
Those tariffs, which have since been reduced to 15% for cars and trucks from Japan and South Korea, were not subject to the Supreme Court’s February ruling striking down levies imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA).
“A deal is a deal,” the European Commission warned after the Supreme Court ruling. “As the United States’ largest trading partner, the EU expects the US to honor its commitments set out in the Joint Statement — just as the EU stands by its commitments. EU products must continue to benefit from the most competitive treatment, with no increases in tariffs beyond the clear and all-inclusive ceiling previously agreed.”
The EU’s parliament formally voted to approve the US trade deal in March, but added amendments warning it could be suspended if Washington is found to have “undermined the objectives of the deal, discriminated against EU economic operators, threatened member states’ territorial integrity, foreign and defence policies, or engaged in economic coercion.”
The value of EU-US trade in goods and services amounted to $2 trillion in 2024, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat.
With Post wires
