US President Donald Trump on Friday said that he will increase tariffs on European cars and trucks, claiming that the EU was “not complying with our fully agreed-upon trade deal”.
According to Trump’s post on Truth Social, the tariff on European cars and trucks will increase to 25 per cent, effective next week.
“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. The Tariff will be increased to 25%,” Trump wrote.
Trump also said that no tariff will be applicable on the companies which produce cars and trucks in the United States, claiming many automobile plants were being constructed in the country with “over $100 billion” in investment, which he said was “a record in the history of car and truck manufacturing”.
“It is fully understood and agreed that, if they produce Cars and Trucks in U.S.A. Plants, there will be NO TARIFF. 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. These Plants, staffed with American Workers, will be opening soon. There has never been anything like what is happening in America today!” he added.
What happened to the US-EU trade deal?
Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had agreed to the trade deal last July. It set a 15 per cent tariff on most goods.
Both the US and the EU had previously confirmed their commitment to preserving the trade framework, known as the Turnberry Agreement, which was named after Trump’s golf course in Scotland. But the status of the 2025 deal was first cast into doubt after the US Supreme Court ruled in February this year that the Republican president lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency and charge tariffs on EU goods.
The initial agreement had set a tariff ceiling of 15 per cent on goods from the EU, but the Supreme Court ruling reduced that to 10 per cent as the Trump administration launched a new set of import taxes under other laws.
The Trump administration is in the middle of investigations on trade imbalances and national security risks to impose a new tariff regime, which could ultimately put the agreement with the EU at risk of violation.
The EU had said it expected the bilateral deal would save European automakers about €500 million to €600 million ($585 million to $700 million) a month.
The value of EU-US trade in goods and services amounted to €1.7 trillion ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of €4.6 billion a day, according to the EU statistics agency Eurostat.
