Automotive News Europe — 2025-08-07
Automotive Industry
Germany’s VDA auto association said the promised trade agreement between the European Union and the U.S. needed to be implemented now so the industry could receive some relief.
Sectoral tariffs of 27.5 percent “remain in place and place a significant burden on German automakers and automotive suppliers, as well as on transatlantic trade,” VDA President Hildegard Mueller said in a press release on Aug. 7.
The EU Commission and German government must vigorously advocate for the U.S. to withdraw sectoral tariffs, she said.
A source familiar with the EU-U.S. negotiations said on Aug. 6 that the EU will likely have to wait a few more days for an executive order by President Donald Trump lowering tariffs on imports of European cars and car parts.
It means tariffs of 27.5 will still be applied to the imports of cars including German-made BMW and Mercedes-Benz vehicles and Swedish-made Volvos, the source said, rather than the 15 percent rate Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed on July 27.
The rate will only come down once Trump issues a legally binding executive order.
Trump on July 31 issued an executive order setting the EU’s baseline tariff at 15 percent, but the order did not cover goods facing so-called Section 232 investigations, including autos, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, wine and spirits and steel and aluminum.