President Donald Trump said on Friday he will raise tariffs on cars and trucks imported from the European Union to 25% next week, accusing Brussels of failing to honour the trade deal the two sides agreed last summer.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the EU was "not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal", without giving details. He added that cars and trucks built in US plants would face no tariff.

A 15% ceiling under threat

The move would break the ceiling of 15% on most EU goods agreed under the deal struck in July between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, known as the Turnberry Agreement. The EU had said the deal would save European carmakers about 500 million to 600 million euros a month.

Brussels rejects the claim

A spokesman for the European Commission rejected the suggestion that the bloc was not complying with the agreement. "We remain fully committed to a predictable, mutually beneficial transatlantic relationship," the spokesman said, adding that the Commission would "keep our options open to protect EU interests" if Washington did not honour the existing deal.

Hildegard Mueller, president of Germany's VDA auto industry association, urged both sides to honour the existing agreement and resolve the dispute quickly.

A fragile backdrop

The announcement comes at a fragile moment for the world economy, with the US-Israeli war with Iran already weighing on growth. It also follows a US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the authority to declare a national emergency to justify many of his tariffs. Trade in goods and services between the EU and the US amounted to 1.7 trillion euros in 2024, an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to Eurostat.