Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on August 12, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleUS tariffs on European cars remain uncertain, affecting trade flows. Wallenius Wilhelmsen reports industry confusion, impacting automakers like BMW and Volvo.
By Marie Mannes
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Europe's car exporters are still struggling with uncertainty over U.S. tariffs despite last month's trade deal, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, the operator of one of the world's largest car-carrier fleets, told Reuters on Tuesday.
The U.S. and European Union struck a trade deal in late July that saw U.S. import tariffs on most goods from Europe, including cars, set at 15%. Cars had initially faced a 27.5% levy after U.S. President Donald Trump hiked tariffs this year.
However, the new 15% rate has not yet been implemented for cars, meaning that Wallenius customers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo Cars still face the higher rate.
The absence of an executive order from Trump lowering the autos tariff has left the industry holding its breath for potential last-minute changes.
"So far we actually do not know exactly what the tariff level will be. Our customers do not know either, so it is too early to say what they'll do," Wallenius CEO Lasse Kristoffersen said following the company's quarterly results.
While carmakers raced earlier this year to ship cars to the U.S. ahead of the tariff hike to 27.5%, the opposite happened at the start of the second quarter, Kristoffersen said.
"We saw that they held more back in the start of the second quarter but that volumes increased throughout the quarter," he said.
(Reporting by Marie Mannes. Editing by Terje Solsvik and Mark Potter)
The European Union (EU) facilitates trade among its member states by establishing common policies and regulations, including tariffs and trade agreements.
Shipping trends refer to the patterns and changes in the transportation of goods, influenced by factors such as tariffs, demand, and economic conditions.
Tariffs can increase the cost of exports, making them less competitive in foreign markets, which can lead to reduced sales and market share.
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