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FILE PHOTO: U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speaks to the media, on the day he attends a working lunch with EU ministers responsible for trade, in Brussels, Belgium, November 24, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw//File Photo
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told European Union and German trade officials over the weekend that the US will move forward with President Donald Trump’s plan to raise EU car import tariffs to 25%, according to a statement made yesterday on CNBC.
“I was in contact with both European and German trade officials this weekend to help them understand why this was happening and remind them of all the conversations we’ve had about their compliance,” Greer told CNBC in an interview. “I’ll continue to have those conversations, but the president’s moving forward with this action.”
Asked if the tariff should be considered just a piece of a larger negotiation or a permanent state, Greer added: “It’s one part of the deal.”
As of Monday at 1 p.m. ET, the new tariffs had not been officially adopted.
Trump said on Friday he would increase tariffs on cars from the EU to 25% next week from the previously agreed 15%, saying the bloc had not complied with its trade deal with the United States.
The European Commission rejected Trump’s claim that Brussels was not complying with last summer’s trade deal and said it would keep its options open to protect EU interests if Washington breached the terms of the agreement.
Trump fired off the tariff post amid escalating tensions between the US and the EU over the war in Iran and European countries’ refusal to send navies to open the Strait of Hormuz. The White House said Friday it plans to remove 5,000 US troops from Germany after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US was being “humiliated” by Iran in talks to end the conflict in the Middle East.
The Trump administration last year imposed a 25% tariff on global automotive imports under a national security trade law, but reached a separate deal with the EU in August to lower those duties to a net 15%, inclusive of prior duties.
Shares in German carmakers slid yesterday following Trump’s decision to hike US tariffs on imported European cars to 25% from the 15% levy previously agreed, dealing a fresh blow to the already battered sector.
The pan-European automobiles and parts index was down 2.3% as of 1046 GMT, while shares in Porsche, BMW,Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen were all down 2% to 3%.
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