Donald Trump blindsided European leaders Friday with an abrupt escalation of trade tensions, announcing he would nearly double tariffs on imported vehicles from the EU starting next week. The move effectively tears apart a deal he negotiated with Brussels at his Scottish golf course last summer.
Posting on Truth Social as much of Europe observed a public holiday, Trump said auto and truck tariffs would jump from 15% to 25%, but exempted vehicles manufactured in the US by European companies. He accused the EU of failing to comply with their agreed trade framework and moving too slowly on formal ratification.
The announcement stunned EU officials who had been working to finalize what became known as the Turnberry deal. That agreement had reduced vehicle tariffs from a threatened 50% down to 15% after intense lobbying from German carmakers and Chancellor Friedrich Merz. In exchange, the EU committed to purchasing $750 billion in US energy and making $600 billion in investments in America.
Trump pointed to ongoing construction of manufacturing plants as justification for the tariff hike. "Many automobile and truck plants are currently under construction with 100 Billion Dollars being invested, A RECORD in the History of Car and Truck Manufacturing," he wrote. "These Plants, staffed with American Workers will be Opening Soon."
The European Parliament's international trade committee chair, German MEP Bernd Lange, fired back immediately. "This is no way to treat close partners," he said, warning that Europe would respond "with the utmost clarity and firmness, drawing on the strength of our position."
The tariff threat comes at a vulnerable moment for the EU's ratification effort. While the European Parliament voted in late March to advance the deal, it has not yet cleared the final "trilogue" stage, which requires formal approval from the European Commission, the EU Council, and the Parliament. The EU is expected to launch intensive diplomatic efforts to rescue the agreement.
Trump's trade escalation also coincides with other geopolitical friction. He recently threatened to withdraw US troops from Italy and Spain, telling reporters Thursday that Italy "has not been of any help to us and Spain has been horrible, absolutely horrible." Days earlier he suggested considering troop reductions in Germany as well.
The tariff announcement also follows a three-day Washington visit by European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, who met with Trump's commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. That trip, the first by Šefčovič since the July deal was signed, apparently failed to shore up the agreement.
The European Parliament had already delayed ratification twice this year, first in January after Trump threatened to take over Greenland, then in February following an adverse US Supreme Court ruling. Ironically, that court decision had ruled the original 15% tariff illegal, yet it was imposed instead under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, a separate authority Trump is now using to raise rates further.
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump just proved that no deal with him is ever final, and Europe's bet on patient diplomacy just blew up in their face."
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