The U.S. government began imposing a 25% tariff on imported cars in early April, significantly impacting the European automotive industry's exports to the United States. At the largest port in Belgium, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, a large number of cars originally intended for export to the U.S. are piling up and unable to be shipped out timely.

Prior to the Trump administration, the U.S. imposed a 2.5% tariff on cars from Europe, but since early April, this tariff has escalated to 27.5%.

According to Reuters, in the first half of 2025, the number of new cars shipped from the Port of Antwerp-Bruges to the U.S. decreased by 15.9% compared to the previous year. Recently, the U.S. government announced a 30% tariff on goods from European Union countries starting from August 1st, leading some car manufacturers to halt exports to the U.S.

Alain Guillerm, President of the Belgian ICO Roll-on Roll-off Transport Company, stated: "The U.S. tariff policy has brought uncertainty, even more. Car manufacturers will observe the situation until August 1st, so they are pausing exports for a period."

According to data released by the German Federal Statistical Office on the 18th, since the U.S. imposed tariffs on imported cars in early April, German car exports to the U.S. saw a significant decline of 23.5% in April and May.