Trump announces that he will increase customs tariffs by 25% for European cars: “The EU does not respect the trade agreement with the USA”

US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he will increase to 25% the customs tariffs applied to European cars and trucks entering the United States, claiming that the European bloc has not fully respected the trade agreement negotiated with the US, according to Reuters.

“Given that the European Union is not honoring our fully agreed-upon trade agreement, next week I will raise the tariffs applied to the European Union on cars and trucks entering the United States,” he wrote in a social media post.

“It is fully understood and agreed that if I make cars and trucks in US factories, there will be no tariffs,” added Donald Trump.

Donald Trump told reporters at the White House that the increased tariffs will force European carmakers to move production to the United States more quickly.

“We have a trade agreement with the European Union. They weren't honoring it. So we raised tariffs to 25 percent on cars and trucks, which means billions of dollars coming into the United States and forcing them to move their production to U.S. factories much faster,” Trump said.

How the trade dispute between Washington and Brussels came to be

The US president launched an offensive against European NATO allies, especially after they did not hurry to join him in the offensive in Iran and even refused to make their military bases available to him, notes News.ro.

He began his second term with a tariff war declared to the whole world to force countries to make deals with the US, but the Supreme Court in February invalidated a substantial part of the global tariff policy promoted by President Donald Trump.

The Donald Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on global auto imports last year under a national security trade law, but reached an agreement with the European Union in August to reduce those taxes to a net 15%, including previously applied tariffs.

In return, the European Union agreed to eliminate tariffs on American industrial goods, including automobiles, and to recognize American vehicle safety and emissions standards.

Although MEPs advanced the legislation needed to implement the tariff cuts in March, the process is not expected to be completed before June, while member state governments and the European Parliament negotiate the final texts.

Shares of Ford Motor Company fell 2 percent after Trump's announcement, while Stellantis shares lost 1.7 percent. General Motors shares fell 1.1%.