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By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, May 1 (Yonhap) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration will raise tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25 percent next week, claiming that the regional bloc is not complying with a bilateral trade agreement with the United States.
Trump made the announcement in a social media post, reiterating that if countries produce automobiles in the U.S., there will be no tariffs.
“I am pleased to announce that, based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal, next week I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks coming into the United States,” he wrote on Truth Social. “The Tariff will be increased to 25 percent.”
Under a trade deal last year, the Trump administration reduced tariffs on EU automobiles to 15 percent. EU cars were previously subject to a total rate of 27.5 percent, which consisted of a 25 percent sector-specific tariff and prior levies of 2.5 percent.
This photo, released by UPI, shows U.S. President Donald Trump taking questions after signing a series of executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Yonhap)
During a press availability later, Trump indicated that the tariff increase is intended to pressure the EU to step up efforts to move its companies’ auto manufacturing to the U.S.
“It forces them to move their factory production much faster,” he said of the tariff hike.
He went on to say that the U.S. currently has over US$100 billion worth of auto plants being built on its soil.
“It’s a record. We’ve never had anything like it … from all countries, Japan, South Korea … Canada, Mexico. They’re all building plants in the United States,” he said. “But the European Union was not adhering to the deal that we made.”
The announcement on the tariff increase came as Trump criticized members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for not acceding to his appeal for naval assistance to secure the crucial Strait of Hormuz, such as sending warships to escort merchant vessels through the waterway.
On Wednesday, the president said that his administration is “studying and reviewing” a possible reduction of American troops in Germany, with a decision to be made over “the next short period of time.”
In Friday’s post, he also underscored his efforts to revitalize America’s auto manufacturing.
“Many Automobile and Truck Plants are currently under construction, with over 100 Billion Dollars being invested, A RECORD in the History of Car and Truck Manufacturing,” he said. “These Plants, staffed with American Workers, will be opening soon — There has never been anything like what is happening in America today!”
Under a bilateral trade deal with the U.S. last year, South Korean autos are subject to a 15 percent tariff.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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