U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Monday that the United States will proceed with President Donald Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on cars imported from the European Union to 25%.
Speaking with CNBC, Greer said he had been in contact with both European and German trade officials over the weekend to outline the decision and address questions about compliance. He recounted those discussions and indicated he would continue engagement with counterparts even as the administration moves forward.
Greer was quoted saying, "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." He added, "I’ll continue to have those conversations, but the president’s moving forward with this action."
When a CNBC interviewer asked whether the tariff increase should be viewed as part of wider negotiations or as a permanent measure, Greer replied, "It’s one part of the deal."
As of 1 p.m. ET on Monday, the new tariff level had not been formally adopted.
The announcement follows President Trump’s statement on Friday that tariffs on cars from the European Union would be raised to 25% from the previously agreed 15%, a change the president attributed to what he described as the EU’s failure to comply with its trade agreement with Washington.
The European Commission disputed that characterization, rejecting the assertion that Brussels had not met the terms of last summer’s trade understanding. The Commission said it would keep its options open to safeguard EU interests if Washington were to breach the terms of the agreement.
Clear points of fact established in these exchanges include the U.S. administration’s intent to implement higher auto tariffs, repeated diplomatic outreach by the U.S. Trade Representative to EU and German officials, a direct quote from Greer about those contacts, the status of formal adoption as of a specified time, the president’s prior announcement raising the tariff from 15% to 25%, and the European Commission’s public rejection of the U.S. noncompliance claim.