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World
US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on cars and trucks coming from the European Union to 25% starting next week, accusing the bloc of not adhering to the trade agreement concluded with Washington.
US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on cars and trucks coming from the European Union to 25% starting next week, accusing the bloc of not adhering to the trade agreement concluded with Washington.
Trump said in a post that the decision is based on the European Union "not fully adhering to the agreed trade deal," adding that tariffs would be imposed on European cars and trucks entering the United States. He further stated that vehicles produced in factories within the United States "will not be subject to any tariffs."
The announcement represents a direct threat to a trade agreement reached by Washington and Brussels in July 2025, which stipulated the application of a 15% US tariff on imports from the European Union, including cars, spare parts, medicines, and semiconductors, with separate duties remaining on steel, aluminum, and copper.
Under the trade agreement, the European Union agreed to abolish tariffs on American industrial goods, in exchange for setting a tariff ceiling of 15% on most EU products. However, this agreement has faced challenges since the initial deal.
The new threat reflects a US trend towards using tariffs as a tool to pressure trade partners, especially in the automotive sector, which is one of the pillars of European industrial exports to the United States.
In his statement, Trump sought to link the new tariffs to a policy of attracting manufacturing back to the US, saying that "many car and truck factories are under construction" with investments exceeding 100 billion dollars, describing this as a record in the history of car and truck manufacturing in the United States. The post did not provide additional details about the companies, factory locations, or production start timeline.
