On May 1, US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on imports of cars and trucks from the EU to 25% for what he said was inconsistent with the US-EU trade agreement.
In July 2025, in Turnberry, Scotland, the US and the EU reached an agreement to reduce tariffs to 15% on most EU imports, including cars and auto parts. In his May 1 post on the Truth social network, Trump accused the EU of failing to comply with the terms of the trade agreement.
"We fully understand and agree that if they produce cars and trucks in factories in the United States, there will be no tariffs," Trump wrote.
The increased tariff will be introduced in accordance with Section 232 of the Trade Act of 1974, a White House official told the Platts agency, part of S&P Global Energy. This is the same trade law that Trump used to impose 50% tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum and some types of copper.
"While the Trump administration has fulfilled its part of the deal, the EU has failed to make significant progress in meeting its agreed commitments, including on barriers to trade in automobiles, digital services, taxes on carbon emissions, and other provisions of the agreement," a White House official said.
Article 232 differs from the legal rationale that Trump used to impose tariffs on dozens of U.
S. trading partners in specific countries, which the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in February.
Trump's actions demonstrate "clear unreliability," Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee, wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Trump's plan to impose 25% duties on cars in the EU is unacceptable," Lange said."[The European Parliament]is still abiding by the agreement with Scotland, working on finalizing the legislation. While the EU fulfills its obligations, the American side continues to violate them."
In February, the EU briefly suspended work on the trade deal, accusing Trump of reneging on the terms of the trade agreement after he imposed a 10% global tariff in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision on tariffs.
The United States and the EU recently signed a memorandum of understanding setting the framework for a strategic agreement on critical minerals.
Author: Rachel Luker
