Trump Says US to Raise Tariff Rate on EU Cars, Trucks to 25%

An employee works on an automobile at the Porsche AG Zuffenhausen plant in Stuttgart, Germany. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)

President Donald Trump said he was raising tariffs on cars and trucks from the EU to 25%, claiming that the bloc had failed to fully comply with a trade agreement negotiated with the U.S.

“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,” Trump said May 1 in a social media post. “The Tariff will be increased to 25%.”

Trump said the levies would not apply to automobiles built in U.S. facilities.

“It is fully understood and agreed that, if they produce Cars and Trucks in U.S.A. Plants, there will be NO TARIFF,” the president said.

Under a transatlantic trade deal, the EU had agreed to erase levies on U.S. industrial goods in exchange for a 15% tariff ceiling on most EU products.

But that pact has faced challenges since the initial agreement.