DONALD TRUMP HAS said he will increase tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25% next week.

The US president accused the bloc of not complying with a trade deal that was struck last summer, but did not elaborate on how.

The deal capped the tariffs on EU vehicles and parts at 15%, which is lower than the duty the Republican leader imposed on many other trading partners. 

“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%,” he wrote on Truth Social.

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

He did not give a further reason for the planned hike. However, the announcement came a day after his renewed criticism of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Trump was reportedly infuriated by Merz’s comments on Monday that Tehran was “humiliating” the US in negotiations to end the US-Israeli war on Iran that has just entered its third month.

He told Merz to focus on ending the Ukraine war instead of “interfering” on Iran.

Germany would likely be hit hard by a sharp tariff on cars and parts, as it is responsible for a significant amount of EU auto exports.

In 2024, it exported some 450,000 vehicles to the US alone, according to the VDA industry group. But that figure has since slipped.

The US-EU trade deal was briefly suspended in January amid Trump’s threats to take over Greenland. He had threatened to impose new tariffs on eight European nations until his purchase of the Danish territory was achieved.

The European Parliament approved the trade deal in March, but with an added suspension clause. 

It states the clause can be activated if the US “undermined the objectives of the deal, discriminated against EU economic operators, threatened member states’ territorial integrity, foreign and defence policies, or engaged in economic coercion”. 

While many EU politicians agreed to cut EU tariffs on some US imports, as a first step towards implementing the deal, they also sought additional safeguards. The deal also still needs to be negotiated with EU states.

In April, EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič was in Washington to meet with counterparts including US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and trade envoy Jamieson Greer.

At the time, he said that the EU was also seeking more progress in easing the effects of still-steep US steel tariffs, adding that talks were going in a positive direction.

The US is the second-largest market for new EU vehicle exports, after the UK, according to a 2025 fact sheet by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. Over a fifth of EU vehicle exports went to the US. 

With reporting from © AFP 2026