US President Trump announced on the 1st that, due to the EU's failure to comply with its bilateral trade agreement with the United States, starting next week tariffs on EU cars and trucks exported to the US will be raised to 25%.
Responding to media at the White House, Trump stated that the EU is not complying with last year's trade framework "as it did in the past." Trump also added that raising tariffs "will force them to move their factories to the US more quickly."
Trump later posted on social media that this tariff adjustment will take effect next week.
Trump said that the 25% tariff will not apply to cars produced in the United States. He said: "Everyone fully understands and agrees that cars and trucks produced in the United States will not be subject to the tariff."
The US and EU reached a trade agreement in July last year. According to the agreement, the United States imposed a 15% tariff on EU products exported to the US, including cars.
On February 20 this year, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling declaring that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president to levy large-scale tariffs. Afterwards, the Trump administration sought to continue implementing tariff measures by invoking relevant clauses of the US Trade Act of 1974. Currently, it is unclear what legal basis the Trump administration has for this latest threat to raise tariffs on imported EU vehicles.