President Trump has announced the increase in tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union, saying the EU failed to fully comply with a trade agreement.
He said Friday on Truth Social that “based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal,” he will be raising tariffs to 25%.
Mr. Trump previously imposed a 25% tariff on global automotive imports, but he and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had agreed on a trade deal last July, setting a 15% tariff ceiling on most goods from the EU.
In return, the EU agreed to eliminate its tariffs on American industrial goods, including automobiles imported from the U.S. to Europe.
The bilateral deal was projected to save European automakers $585 million to $700 million a month, the EU said.
But the deal — named the Turnberry Agreement after the president’s golf course in Scotland — was rattled after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the president exceeded his authority by imposing sweeping tariffs by declaring an economic emergency.
The duties were then reduced to 10% when the Trump administration implemented a new set of import taxes based on another law.
While both sides previously pledged to uphold the framework, the high court’s ruling destabilized it, and Mr. Trump’s most recent tariff announcement puts the agreement in jeopardy.
After the Supreme Court ruling, the European Commission said, “A deal is a deal.”
“As the United States’ largest trading partner, the EU expects the U.S. 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,” it said at the time.
The EU has yet to implement any of its commitments under the Turnberry framework, though it has taken significant legislative steps to do so, which is likely central to Mr. Trump’s non-compliance claim.
The increased duties are intended to force European auto makers to move their factory production to the U.S. more quickly, he told reporters at the White House.
“We have a trade deal with the European Union. They were not adhering to it. So I raised the tariffs on cars and trucks to 25%, that’s billions of dollars coming into the United States, and it forces them to move their factory production much faster,” he said.
The president reiterated that if countries produce cars and trucks in the U.S., there will be no tariffs.
“These Plants, staffed with American Workers, will be opening soon — There has never been anything like what is happening in America today!” he said on Truth Social.
Bernd Lange, the chair of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, described the president’s behavior as “unacceptable.”
“This latest move demonstrates just how unreliable the U.S. side is. We have already witnessed these arbitrary attacks from the U.S. in the case of Greenland; this is no way to treat close partners. Now we can only respond with the utmost clarity and firmness, drawing on the strength of our position,” he told Reuters.
