Macron’s warning came after Donald Trump announced an increase in tariffs on European vehicles, a move European leaders portrayed as destabilizing at a time they said their governments should focus on wider geopolitical priorities. Trump said the increased duties would apply to cars and trucks from the European Union and that they would be raised to 25% this week, drawing renewed attention to the economic impact on the auto industry and the broader pace of U.S.-EU trade talks.
Speaking Tuesday in Armenia, Macron told reporters that Europe and the United States should not “stir up threats of destabilization” in a period when allies should instead work toward stability. “Especially in the geopolitical period we are experiencing, allies like the United States of America and the European Union have much better things to do than to stir up threats of destabilization,” Macron said, according to a statement he made to reporters at the summit.
Macron added that the response he wanted from both sides was focused on business and household confidence. “For our businesses, our households, our populations, we should rather send a message of stability and confidence,” he said, and he added that he hoped “reason will prevail soon.”
At the same summit, von der Leyen responded to questions about the prospect of another tariff increase. She said “A deal is a deal, and we have a deal,” and described the agreement as centered on “prosperity, common rules and reliability.” She also said that the European Commission, which negotiates trade on behalf of the EU’s 27 member countries, is “prepared for every scenario” if talks worsen.
Trump has accused the European Union of “not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal,” without providing details for the accusation. The tariff warning has also been described as arriving amid heightened tensions around other international issues, including remarks tied to the Iran war and criticism of Europe’s approach to German political leadership, which has been tied in the reporting to concerns about the effects on Germany’s major automobile industry.
Macron, for his part, insisted that agreements must be respected and said challenging them would widen the dispute. “If they were challenged again, it would reopen everything,” he said, adding that the EU has “instruments that would then need to be activated.”
The vehicle tariffs came despite a July 2025 agreement between Trump and von der Leyen that set a tariff ceiling of 15% on most goods, according to the reporting. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this year against the legal authority Trump used to charge that tax, setting up a renewed legal and political backdrop for the latest tariff threat.
EU and U.S. trade officials were due to meet in Paris on Tuesday to discuss the issue, as leaders traded competing messages about whether the latest escalation would be contained within existing agreements or reopened negotiations.
Masha Macpherson in Paris contributed.