Trump says EU car and truck tariffs will rise to 25%

Trump said tariffs on EU cars and trucks entering the United States will rise to 25%, escalating tensions over last year’s trade deal.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he will raise tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25% next week, accusing Brussels of failing to comply with a trade agreement reached last year.

The move would escalate transatlantic trade tensions and target one of Europe’s most important export sectors. It also lifts the vehicle tariff above the 15% level set for most European goods under the current U.S.-EU framework, which was negotiated after Trump had threatened steeper levies.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the European Union was “not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal” and said the tariff increase would apply to “Cars and Trucks coming into the United States.” He did not provide details on how he believes the EU violated the deal.

Trump said vehicles made in the United States would not face the tariff. “It is fully understood and agreed that, if they produce Cars and Trucks in U.S.A. Plants, there will be NO TARIFF,” he wrote. Speaking to reporters Friday, he said the increase would force the EU to “move their factory production much faster.”

The U.S. and EU reached their framework last year at Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland. The agreement set tariffs on most European goods at 15%, lower than the 30% rate Trump had previously threatened, while Europe agreed to steps expected to boost U.S. exports and investment in the United States.

Details of the new tariff’s application were not immediately clear. CBS News reported that heavy-duty trucks already carry a 25% tariff rate, leaving open how the announced increase would apply across truck categories.

The European Union did not immediately respond to Trump’s announcement. Hildegard Mueller, president of Germany’s VDA auto association, urged both sides to honor the existing trade agreement and resolve the dispute quickly, warning that additional tariff costs would be enormous and likely affect U.S. consumers.

The announcement comes as the broader U.S. tariff program remains under legal and political pressure. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Trump lacked authority to justify many tariffs through emergency powers, and companies that paid duties under those measures are seeking refunds. The auto tariffs, however, fall under a different legal process and are not affected by that ruling, according to the captured source material.

The next immediate test is whether the EU responds before the new rate is due to take effect next week, and whether the White House specifies exactly which vehicles will be covered.