Volvo CEO wants EU to cut 'unnecessary' auto tariffs to defuse Trump threat

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -The chief executive of Volvo Cars urged the European Union to cut its 10% tariff on American-made cars, arguing that European automakers do not need protection from U.S. competitors, in an interview with Reuters on Thursday.

Brussels, along with representatives from the auto industry, has spent months trying to persuade Washington to lower its 27.5% tariff on imports of European cars.

"If Europe is for free trade, we should be the ones showing the way and going down to very low tariffs first," Hakan Samuelsson said after the company reported second-quarter earnings.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on European Union auto imports to 30% from August 1, increasing pressure on the bloc to strike a deal.

Before Trump's tenure, the U.S. had a 2.5% tariff on European-made cars, while the EU had a 10% duty on vehicles imported from the U.S, which Samuelsson previously said was unfair.

"I think it's absolutely unnecessary, the European car industry definitely does not need to have any protection from American auto builders," he told Reuters.

Volvo Cars, majority-owned by China's Geely Holding, is one of the most exposed European automakers to U.S. tariffs as the bulk of its cars sold there are imported from Europe.

Volvo announced late Wednesday that it would start U.S. production in late 2026 of its best-selling model, the hybrid XC60 as a way to mitigate the tariffs.

Currently, its South Carolina plant only produces the Polestar 3 and electric vehicle model EX90 which has struggled to gain traction with U.S. consumers. Volvo has also started slimming down its product offering in the U.S., Reuters reported on Wednesday.

"These are the measures we have control over, rather than when it comes to tariffs we can only have an opinion like everybody else," Samuelsson said.

(Reporting by Marie Mannes; Editing by Stine Jacobsen and Rachna Uppal)