EU trade official calls Trump tariff threat ‘unacceptable’ after president says trucks and cars will face 25% levy – US politics live

Donald Trump said earlier that he was not satisfied with the latest Iranian proposal for talks on the Iran war, while Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran was ready for diplomacy if the United States changes its approach.

It comes after Iranian state media and a Pakistani official said Iran had submitted its latest proposal for negotiations, raising some hope that a deadlock in efforts to end the war might be broken.

“They want to make a deal, but … I’m not satisfied with it,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House to head to Florida, adding that the Iranian leadership was “very disjointed” and split into two or three groups.

Trump also praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts, saying negotiations by phone were continuing.

“They’ve made strides, but I’m not sure if they ever get there,” Trump said. “They’re asking for things that I can’t agree to.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was ready to pursue diplomacy if the United States changes what he called its “excessive approach, threatening rhetoric and provocative actions”.

However, Araghchi added in a post on his Telegram channel that “Iran’s armed forces remained ready to defend the country against any threat”.

Here’s my colleague Lisa O’Carroll’s report:

Further to that last post and in line with what the White House official told Reuters, Donald Trump told reporters a short while ago that his administration will raise tariffs on cars imported from the EU because it had not adhered to the trade deal.

“We raised the tariffs on cars coming in from the European Union because the European Union was not adhering to the trade deal we have,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.

He said some European companies, however, are building plants in the United States and said when they open, “there won’t be any tariffs”.

“But we raised the tariffs because they were not, as usual, they were not adhering to the agreement that we have,” he continued. “We have a trade deal with the European Union. They were not adhering to it. So I raised the tariffs on cars and trucks to 25% – that’s billions of dollars coming into the United States, and it forces them to move their factory production much faster.”

Following Donald Trump’s threat to slap a higher 25% tariff on truck and car imports from the European Union, Bernd Lange, the chairman of the EU parliament’s trade committee, responded immediately:

President Trump’s behaviour is unacceptable.

This latest move demonstrates just how unreliable the US side is.

We have already witnessed these arbitrary attacks from the US in the case of Greenland; this is no way to treat close partners.

Trump last year imposed a 25% tariff on global automotive imports under a national security trade law, but reached a deal with the EU in August to lower those duties to a net 15%, inclusive of prior duties.

In exchange, the EU agreed to eliminate duties on US industrial goods, including autos, and accept US safety and emissions standards on vehicles.

EU lawmakers advanced legislation in March to implement the tariff reductions, but the process is not expected to be completed before June, as EU governments and the European parliament negotiate final texts.

Asked to explain Trump’s latest move, a Trump administration official told Reuters:

The EU has not complied with the autos deal after eight months.

Donald Trump said “I’m not happy” in regards to reports of US weapons intended for Iranian protesters being sent to Kurdish Iranian opposition groups in Iraq.

“I’m not happy with the delivery of the weapons. I’m not thrilled with it, but a small amount of weapons were sent, and we’ll see who has them. But I’m not happy with what happened with the Kurds. The Kurds did not deliver the weapons,” he said.

He also said that he was “not happy” with both Italy and Spain, countries which he said “feel [that] it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

“Anybody that feels it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon is not very smart,” Trump told reporters on Friday.

In regards to a question on whether he is considering new strikes on Iran, Donald Trump told reporters on Friday: “Why would I tell you that?”

He went to explain why his administration is not seeking congressional approval to extend the US’s ongoing war with Iran amid the ongoing ceasefire, saying:

“Because it’s never been sought before … Nobody’s ever gotten it before, they consider it totally unconstitutional but we’re always in touch with Congress. Nobody’s ever sought it before, nobody’s ever asked for it before … why should we be different?”

Friday marks the 60-day deadline set by the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which requires Congress to declare war or authorize military action – unless the president requests an extension, allowing up to 90 days.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Donald Trump addressed concerns over military inventory as a result of the US’s war with Iran, saying:

“We have more than we’ve ever had, actually, because all over the world, we have inventory, and we can take that if we need it. But all over the world, we have tremendous amounts of inventory. The best, for instance, we’re stocked and locked and loaded right now, we have more than double what we had when this started.”

He also addressed rising fuel prices as a result of the war which have placed many American families in a financial chokehold, saying:

“When the war ends, gasoline prices will go down to the lowest … Our country is getting stronger and stronger … The amount of oil and gas that we’re selling now is at a level that nobody’s ever seen before.”

Donald Trump has issued a new wave of sanctions on the Cuban government, according to two White House officials who spoke to Reuters.

In addition to agents, officials and government supporters, the sanctions target people, entities and affiliates that support the Cuban government’s security apparatus or are complicit in corruption or serious human rights violations, the officials said.

No specific details were provided on the latest individuals and entities to be sanctioned by the Trump administration.

As reactions, particularly from European leaders and members of Congress, begin to emerge following Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcement, former president Joe Biden has issued his first endorsement of the 2026 midterm cycle.

In a video on Friday, Biden announced his support for Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta’s former mayor who is running in Georgia’s gubernatorial race.

“As mayor of Atlanta, Keisha faced every challenge a leader could face, and then some – a global pandemic, a major cyber-attack on the city system, economic uncertainty that tested every community across Georgia,” Biden said, adding: “She handled the law with steady leadership.”

He went on to say: “And then she came to the White House, served as a senior adviser. And I’ll tell you, those same qualities that made her a great mayor made her invaluable to our administration. Smart, focused, gets things done. Georgia, she’s ready. She’s been ready.”

According to a March 20/20 Insight poll, Bottoms leads her Democratic competitors with 32%, well ahead of former state senator Jason Eves at 14%, former lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan at 12%, and former DeKalb county CEO Michael Thurmond at 11%.

Donald Trump has announced that he will be increasing tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union to 25%.

In a post on Truth Social, the president said:

I am pleased to announce that, 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. The Tariff will be increased to 25%. It is fully understood and agreed that, if they produce Cars and Trucks in U.S.A. Plants, there will be NO TARIFF. Many Automobile and Truck Plants are currently under construction, with over 100 Billion Dollars being invested, A RECORD in the History of Car and Truck Manufacturing. These Plants, staffed with American Workers, will be opening soon — There has never been anything like what is happening in America today!

The US Treasury has warned shippers they could face sanctions if they pay tolls to Iran in exchange for safe transit through the strait of Hormuz, even if those payments are in the form of charitable donations to Iranian NGOs.

In an advisory note, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it was aware of Iranian demands for payments for safe passage through the strait. It said Iran could offer “several payment options, including fiat currency, digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments, such as nominally charitable donations made to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Bonyad Mostazafan, or Iranian embassy accounts”.

It went on: “OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method.”