4 May 2026 – On 1 May 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that tariffs on vehicles from the European Union are to be raised to 25% this week. But is the German Chancellor really responsible for this – or the EU Trade Commissioner’s plans for 50% steel tariffs? EU stainless steel producer wants to more than double earnings by 2028 – should a price jump in stainless steel be expected?
US: Tariffs on EU Vehicles Set to Rise to 25%
On 1 May 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that tariffs on vehicles from the European Union are to be raised to 25% this week. The exact justification for this is still pending, but President Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday:
“…based on the fact the European Union is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal, next week I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks coming into the United States.” Source
The announcement, however, was preceded not only by disagreements between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the U.S. President over the conflict in Iran – which the media landscape is citing as the main cause of the tariff increase.
Are the EU Trade Commissioner’s Tariff Plans the Real Reason?
What is being ignored here, however, is an official trip by EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. Šefčovič had been in Washington the week before – for negotiations, among other things, on the U.S. Section 232 tariffs on steel. As before, the negotiations produced absolutely no result and once again merely cost European taxpayers money. And now they could cost European automakers even more money.
“The European Union Intends to Eliminate Tariffs on All US Industrial Goods…”
Because in the U.S. President’s half-sentence that the EU is not complying with the agreements from the trade deal of 21 August 2025, there is probably more truth than Brussels or the media currently want to hear. After all, the agreement clearly states: “The European Union intends to eliminate tariffs on all US industrial goods…”
With its intended introduction of new MFN tariffs of 50% on virtually all steel products as of 1 July 2026, the EU is clearly violating this agreement. Why? MFN tariffs apply equally to all WTO trading partners without a free trade agreement – and therefore also to the United States.
Is the Trade Commissioner Just Vacationing in Washington?
Even if the German Chancellor’s remarks certainly played some part in the 25% automotive tariffs announced by President Trump, EU Trade Commissioner Šefčovič, with his EU safeguard successor for steel, must be held primarily responsible for the violation of the EU-U.S. trade deal. But instead of taking note of this and recognizing the consequences in advance, Mr Šefčovič seems to prefer going on vacation in the United States.
EU Stainless Steel Producer Wants to More Than Double Earnings by 2028
The reporting season for European stainless steel producers for the first quarter of 2026 has begun, and the very first publication already offers a deep look into the earnings expected by producers.
The Belgian stainless steel producer therefore assumes that the group will more than double its “adjusted” earnings by 2028 compared with 2025. In the European stainless steel and services segments alone, group data indicate that the adjusted EBITDA is expected to rise by almost 40% by 2028.
Significant Price Increase for Stainless Steel in Europe to Be Expected
This should make clear what EU stainless steel producers expect from EU trade defence measures, CBAM, and a market recovery: sharply rising prices and tight availability. After all, stainless steel producers can cover only around 75% of intra-European demand.
Learn more
- British Steel: Tariffs, CBAM, Rising Prices – and in the End, the Consumer Pays
- US: Excessively High CBAM Default Values Could Trigger Countermeasures
- CBAM Expansion: Should a failed system really be expanded?
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Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
