Thousands of vehicles sit idle at EU port as Trump’s tariffs leave their mark

The port couldn’t put a figure on the number of cars waiting to be transported but said it was in the thousands.

The port is one of the world’s largest car transport hubs, shipping more than 3m vehicles around the world in 2024. Picture: Getty

The Port of Antwerp-Bruges has been turned into a giant car park with thousands of cars, vans, trucks and tractors bound for the US sitting idle as manufacturers try to avert the worst of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Figures released by the port show a 15.9% drop in the transport of new passenger cars and vans to the US in the first six months of 2025 compared with the same period last year, with a sharp decline emerging in May – one month after the US president announced his “liberation day” tariffs.