Trump will increase the tariffs on cars made in EU to 25%

Written by journalist Danylo Aleksandrov

On Friday, the President of the United States Donald Trump said that next week he will increase the US tariff on cars and trucks made in EU to 25%.

The US President announced this in a social media post, where he also explained this move by EU not complying with a previously agreed upon trade deal. He did not give other reasons for this decision, which happens during tension in diplomatic relations between Washington and Brussels.

This comes after a new wave of critique came from the Trump towards European NATO allies, as well as measures to “punish” them, mostly for their reluctance to aid US in Iran war, which are supposedly in development by US officials. He previously made a number of statements regarding Spain’s refusal to join the aforementioned conflict. He also criticized Germany and its chancellor, Friedrich Merz, in particular, for making comments regarding the war in Iran while the war in Ukraine is still going on. Germany is likely to be hit the hardest by the new tariffs since it is on of the leaders of EU car exports.

Previously, US and EU agreed to a new trade deal, which set the tariffs at ceiling of 15% on European goods. Later, the US Supreme Court lowered that percentage to 10, after which Trump set new tariffs using other laws as basis. New escalation from Trump puts the trade deal at a risk. According to Eurostat, in 2024 EU and US exchanged €1.7 trillion in goods and services.