Macron says US and EU waste time on tariff threats
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · May 5
Macron says US and EU waste time on tariff threats
8 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · May 5
Speaking in Yerevan, he criticised Donald Trump's plan to raise tariffs on EU cars and trucks to 25% this week.
EU and US trade officials were due to meet in Paris, while Ursula von der Leyen said a 2025 deal capped most tariffs at 15% and the bloc was ready for any scenario.
Trump linked the threat to alleged EU non-compliance and remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, raising risks for Germany's car industry and wider transatlantic ties.
Trump's car tariffs threaten Europe's economic sovereignty. Can the EU's new defense tools actually protect its industries?
As war roils the Middle East, is a US-EU tariff battle pushing the global economy toward a breaking point?
With a recent Supreme Court ruling limiting tariff power, on what legal grounds can the US tax allied European cars?
In May 2026, President Trump abruptly raised US tariffs on EU cars and trucks from 15% to 25%, reversing the 2025 trade agreement and sparking strong condemnation from French President Macron and EU Commission President von der Leyen, who warned of countermeasures including the EU's Anti-Coercion Instrument. This escalation followed a February Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the legal basis for previous tariffs, forcing the US to adopt new trade statutes and creating deep uncertainty. The EU responded by pausing the EU-US trade deal approval and accelerating trade diversification through agreements with Mercosur and India. These tensions have strained transatlantic trust, threatening the future of the 2025 deal, which now faces renegotiation or collapse amid growing geopolitical and economic fallout.