Trump says 25% tariff on EU cars, trucks imports to kick in next week amid trade rift

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he plans to raise tariffs on cars and trucks imported from the European Union to 25% as early as next week, accusing the bloc of failing to honour a previously agreed trade arrangement.

Vehicles assembled at American plants, he said, would be exempt from the higher duties.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump framed the move as both a corrective measure and an incentive for manufacturers to expand production in the United States.


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"I am pleased to announce that, based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal, next week I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks coming into the United States. The Tariff will be increased to 25%. 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 in his post.

The US President also pointed to a surge in domestic investment, claiming that more than $100 billion is being committed to new automobile and truck manufacturing facilities across the country.

He described the scale of planned expansion as unprecedented, with multiple plants under construction and expected to come online in the near term, employing American workers.

"Many Automobile and Truck Plants are currently under construction, with over 100 Billion Dollars being invested, A RECORD in the History of Car and Truck Manufacturing. These Plants, staffed with American Workers, will be opening soon — There has never been anything like what is happening in America today! Thank you for your attention to this matter," his post further read.

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Trump’s remarks refer to a trade framework agreed last July with Ursula von der Leyen that set a broad tariff ceiling of around 15% on goods traded between the two sides and was presented as a way to steady relations after a period of escalating tit-for-tat measures.

The announcement drew a sharp response from Brussels.

Bernd Lange, who chairs the European Parliament’s trade committee, said the move reinforced concerns that Washington was an unreliable partner. He described Trump’s approach as “unacceptable” and said the EU had adhered to the terms of last year’s agreement, which helped avert a wider trade conflict.

Lange argued that the United States had itself deviated from the framework, pointing to tariffs affecting hundreds of products containing steel and aluminium that are now subject to significantly higher duties.

He further warned that the bloc would respond with “clarity and firmness,” signalling the potential for retaliatory measures if the tariff hike is implemented.

EU-US trade clashes

Both Washington and Brussels had publicly reiterated their commitment to preserving this framework.

However, its legal footing came under scrutiny earlier this year after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the president did not have the authority to invoke emergency economic powers to impose certain tariffs on EU goods.

The ruling effectively altered the tariff structure underpinning the agreement.

While the original understanding envisaged a 15% ceiling, subsequent adjustments by the Trump administration, using alternative legal provisions, brought effective tariff levels closer to 10% in some categories, creating fresh uncertainty over the deal’s durability.

The agreement itself had been conceived as a temporary stabilisation measure, particularly for sectors such as automobiles, steel and industrial goods, which had been at the centre of earlier trade disputes.

Meanwhile, the European Commission is facing internal turbulence over its handling of trade policy.

Sabine Weyand, who has led the bloc’s powerful trade department for several years, is reportedly set to step down after disagreements with senior leadership over the same US trade deal.

According to a Financial Times report citing officials, Weyand raised concerns about the way the agreement, reportedly finalised during talks in Scotland last year, aligned with global trade rules.

She is said to have publicly challenged the Commission’s position that the deal was fully compliant, exposing divisions within Brussels over its legal and strategic footing