Trump moves to hit EU with 25% tariffs ‘on cars and all other things’

President Trump clearly has no plans to deviate from his aggressive tariff agenda—saying on Wednesday that he’s considering hitting the European Union with levies for autos and other goods. 

First things first: Trump floated the threat to enact tariffs against the EU—which caught many off guard—when taking questions from reporters, with members of his cabinet team present, saying that the European Union has taken advantage of the US.

• Trump didn’t share any specifics of the levies against the EU or whether the measure is tied to previously announced tariffs, simply saying they would be 25% “on cars and all other things.”  

• The President also said that the 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada will take effect April 2—but that was quickly cleared up by the White House, which indicated that the tariffs against the neighboring countries will indeed go into effect next week. 

• Trump’s 10% tariffs against China have already been enacted but have only been imposed on Beijing.  

President Trump’s more direct 25% tariff threat against the EU likely caught some off guard in the European Union, given that he recently hosted French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House, in what appears to have been a very positive meeting between the two heads of state, for the most part. 

Zooming in: The tariffs—which appear to be mounting and getting more confusing in the mix of everything else being enacted by the Trump administration—continue to stir up the auto industry as car companies scramble to try to mitigate the damage to their operations. 

• Honda Motor Co. said the tariffs would have a “$20 billion-plus impact” on their company, prompting the automaker to shift some of its production from Mexico and Canada into the US.  

• Ford CEO Jim Farley—who has been the most vocal about the impact of tariffs among Detroit auto leadership—said two weeks ago that the tariffs “would blow a hole in the U.S. industry,” giving foreign competitors a significant edge over the Detroit Three. 

Why it matters: The growing number of tariffs and confusion around which ones will be enacted and when heightens concerns about the measures. More specifically, it puts carmakers in a current state of limbo about the steps they need to take to try to offset the impact of the levies and higher costs that will affect vehicle pricing for dealers and consumers.

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