EU Leaders Bristle at Trump’s Latest Tariff Threat, Calling for Strong Response

Pressure is growing in Europe for retaliatory measures in response to President Trump’s latest tariff threat, raising the prospect of a mutually damaging trade war at a time of economic vulnerability on both sides of the Atlantic.“President Trump’s behavior is unacceptable,” the chair of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, Bernd Lange, told Reuters after Mr. Trump surprised the continent’s leaders by announcing he will raise the tariff on European cars and trucks to 25 percent next week.“This latest move demonstrates just how unreliable the U.S. side is,” Mr. Lange continued. “We have already witnessed these arbitrary attacks from the U.S. in the case of Greenland; this is no way to treat close partners. Now we can only respond with the utmost clarity and firmness, drawing on the strength of our position.”The president of Germany’s largest economic research institute DIW Berlin, Marcel Fratzscher, was similarly defiant. “The German government and the European Commission must now finally show some backbone and stand up to Trump,” he told Reuters. “Only that can prevent a continuing escalation.”Auto industry leaders were more cautious, urging America and Europe to quickly work out their differences. “The automotive industry urgently calls on both sides to de-escalate the situation and engage in swift negotiation,” said a statement issued by the president of Germany’s VDA auto association, Hildegard Mueller.Mr. Trump announced Friday on Truth Social that, “based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal,” he will be increasing the tariff on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25 percent, up from the current 15 percent.“It is fully understood and agreed that, if they produce Cars and Trucks in U.S.A. Plants, there will be NO TARIFF,” he wrote.The president first imposed a 25 percent tariff on global auto imports early last year, but later lowered the rate for Europe to 15 percent as part of a landmark deal concluded in July 2025 at his Turnberry, Scotland, golf club.The EU, which had resisted calls to retaliate against the initial tariffs, agreed in exchange for the lower rate to eliminate all tariffs on U.S. industrial goods; invest $600 billion in strategic U.S. sectors; spend another $750 billion on American energy; and grant preferential market access for a range of U.S. agricultural products.Among other concessions, it also agreed to accept United States safety and emissions standards on vehicles, making it easier for American automakers to sell their vehicles in Europe.European legislation to enact its side of the agreement has been moving slowly through the bloc’s elaborate bureaucracy, but took a major step forward in March and is expected to be completed in June.In a statement, the European Commission said the EU was implementing the deal “in line with standard legislative practice, keeping the US administration fully informed throughout.”The spokesman added: “We remain fully committed to a predictable, mutually beneficial transatlantic relationship. Should the US take measures inconsistent with the Joint Statement, we will keep our options open to protect EU interests.”The VDA president, Ms. Mueller, acknowledged that the Europeans still have work to do on their side of the agreement. The pact “must be honored by both sides. This also means that the EU must finally implement its part of the agreements already reached last summer,” her statement said.

EU Leaders Bristle at Trump’s Latest Tariff Threat, Calling for Strong Response

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