United States President Donald Trump announced in a post on his social network Truth that he will increase tariffs against the European Union. In particular, the tycoon explained that the adjustment will affect the tariffs linked to the automotive sector. It is not yet clear what legal instrument is being used by the occupant of the White House to relaunch the trade war with the old continent.
The post
“I am pleased to announce that because the European Union is not living up to our fully agreed-upon trade deal, next week I will increase the tariffs applied to the European Union on cars and trucks entering the United States. The tariff will be raised to 25 percent,” Trump wrote in Truth.
“It is very clear and agreed that if they produce cars and trucks in US factories, there will be no tariffs,” the tycoon underlined. Who reiterated the supposed effectiveness of his trade war: “Many factories for the production of cars and trucks are currently under construction, with an investment of more than 100 billion dollars, a record in the history of automotive production. These factories, staffed by Americans, will open soon. There has never been anything like what is happening today in America!”.
The Turnberry Accords
Duties towards EU member countries from 1 August 2025 had dropped from 27.5 percent to 15 percent following the agreements at Turnberry, Trump’s golf course in Scotland where the agreement with Ursula von der Leyen was signed. According to the agreement, most European goods imported into the United States would be subject to a 15 percent tariff.
The Supreme Court ruling
On February 20 of this year, the United States Supreme Court rejected the majority of the global tariffs imposed by the tycoon. The vote of six judges against three had rejected the application of duties on the basis of the federal Ieepa law. According to the Supreme Court, Trump could not take advantage of this provision conceived way back in 1977. Due to this ruling, tariffs on automobiles had fallen again to 10 percent.
The EU Parliament: “We will respond firmly”
Brussels was caught off guard by the White House’s move. However, the European institutions say they are ready to react: “Trump’s behavior is unacceptable. Parliament was about to ratify the legislation on the trade agreement with the USA. It is the United States that has repeatedly broken the agreements, and this is not the way to treat allies. Now we can only respond with the utmost clarity and firmness”, declared Bernd Lange, the head of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee.