Trump Scraps Turnberry Auto Clause, Slaps 25 % Tariff on EU Vehicles

History rhymes: the move echoes President Nixon’s 10 % “surprise” import surcharge of August 1971—another unilateral tariff invoked amid currency and alliance frictions—and even the 1930 Smoot-Hawley duties that deepened distrust among major economies. Structurally, the announcement underscores two long-running trends: (1) the steady re-weaponisation of Section 232 national-security tariffs as a presidential lever that bypasses Congress and courts, and (2) the broader shift from rules-based trade to transactional, location-based bargains that reward firms for on-shoring. If sustained, a 25 % levy could accelerate the ongoing fragmentation of global auto supply chains and push EU manufacturers to duplicate capacity in North America—a reversal of 40 years of trans-Atlantic integration. Over a 100-year horizon the episode may be remembered less for its immediate economic bite than for how casually a G-7 power torpedoed a still-unratified agreement, signalling that even between allies trade deals can be provisional and politically revocable, thereby eroding the credibility of multilateral commitments forged since Bretton Woods.