Trump is raising the tariff on cars and trucks imported from the European Union to 25%, the president announced Thursday, accusing the bloc of failing to hold up its end of a trade deal.
The move adds to an already tense trade relationship between Washington and Brussels. Trump framed the increase as a direct response to what he described as European noncompliance, though neither the White House nor the EU immediately outlined the specific terms at issue.
A 25% tariff on European vehicles would hit major automakers including Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Volvo, all of which sell significant volumes in the United States. European manufacturers have already been navigating uncertainty over American trade policy for more than a year, and a tariff at that level would substantially raise the cost of imported vehicles, potentially pushing prices higher for American consumers.
The announcement came as Trump has been applying tariff pressure across multiple trading partners simultaneously. The EU has previously signaled it would respond to any new American duties with countermeasures targeting U.S. goods, and Brussels is expected to react to this latest escalation.
The auto sector is one of Europe's most economically significant export industries, and a 25% rate would mark a sharp increase from previous tariff levels. For context, the long-standing U.S. tariff on imported passenger cars was 2.5% before the current administration began ratcheting up rates. Even after earlier rounds of increases, a jump to 25% would represent a substantial new cost burden on European manufacturers.
Details of the timeline for implementation were not immediately available. The announcement adds to a series of tariff actions Trump has taken in recent weeks targeting goods from multiple regions, part of a broader effort the administration has described as rebalancing global trade terms in favor of American producers.
