Thousands of cars are piling up at European ports unable to come to America
Published on Jul 18, 2025 at 2:23 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jul 18, 2025 at 2:23 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Claire Reid
Thousands of US-bound cars are piling up at European ports as manufacturers hold out hope that President Donald Trump will scale back tariffs.
Back in April, the US government implemented a 25 percent tariff on cars and car parts coming into America from the European Union.
As a result, cars are piling up at European ports as carmakers hope to avert the worst of the tariffs.
However, things may get worse before they get better for European carmakers as Trump has recently announced he will be introducing 30 percent tariffs on the EU from August 1.
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Cars are piling up at European ports as exports drop
The Trump administration’s tariff policy came with a clear message: make more cars in America.
As it stands, the US is the world’s second-largest producer of cars, after China.
But of the 16.1 million cars sold in the US in 2024, around 6.3 million were imported.
Since the new tariffs were introduced on European-made cars back in April, exports have slowed dramatically, and cars are piling up at European ports.
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges, one of the world’s largest car transport hubs, shipped more than 3 million vehicles last year.
However, new figures show that exports of new cars have dropped by 15.9 percent.
And it’s not just impacting passenger vehicles.
Data shared by the port revealed exports of ‘trucks and High & Heavy vehicles’ have dropped by 31.5 percent.
The port says the future remains unclear, with carmakers hoping that a deal between the Trump administration and the EU could see tariffs lowered, but there are no clear signs that this will happen.
“The outlook for the second half of the year remains uncertain. Much will depend on whether a trade agreement between the EU and the US can be reached by 1 August,” the port said in a statement.
A port representative said it isn’t just impacting European ports
UK and Ireland port representative of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges Justin Atkin told The Guardian he couldn’t put a figure on the number of cars piling up at European ports, but said it was in the thousands.
He went on to say that there was also evidence of Chinese-made cars being stockpiled at ports in a similar manner.
Which is likely due to the tariffs imposed on cars exported from China.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
