The US President, Donald Trump, is increasing the tariffs charged on cars and trucks imported from the European Union (EU) to 25% in a sharp intensification of trade tensions with Brussels.
In a post on Truth Social, a social media platform owned by the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) Trump accused the EU of "not complying with our fully agreed to trade deal” - but did not explain how.
"I am pleased to announce that… next week I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks," Trump said on Friday 1 May.
The European Commission has responded: by claiming that they intend on keeping their options open in order to protect the interests of the EU. The Commission said that the EU was adhering to its commitments but was also seeking clarity from the US around its commitments.
Car manufacturing makes up a significant proportion of Europe’s economy, which could explain why Trump has chosen to target the European automotive sector. The move comes less than a year after the EU and US agreed a deal which set levies on most European goods at 15%, a reprieve from the threatened 30% tariffs. In exchange, Europe agreed to invest in the US and make changes intended to boost US exports.
However, in the following months, tensions mounted over Trump's threats to annex Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory. In January the European Parliament in January suspended the approval of the trade deal. The deal was eventually approved by in March, after the addition of a clause allowing for it to be suspended if the Trump administration was deemed to have "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".