Hungary: Trump's potential EU auto tariffs threaten Hungarian economic stability: expert.

Shotlist Budapest, Hungary - May 7, 2026 1. Various of cityscape, vehicles 2. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Gabor Varkonyi, Hungarian car expert: "It will affect the Hungarian economy in every way. Based on short-term calculations, we are talking about an immediate loss of around 1 billion dollars in exports. In the long term, that figure will probably double, which is a sore point for the Hungarian economy." FILE: Schwarzheide, Germany - 2022 3. Various of auto assembly line in Mercedes-Benz factory FILE: Bremen, Germany - May 21, 2025 4. Aerial shots of vehicles for export at port Budapest, Hungary - May 7, 2026 5. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Gabor Varkonyi, Hungarian car expert: "If this actually happens, the EU will be forced to respond with countermeasures towards the United States, and it will be hard to reverse the escalation. I sincerely hope that we are not going in that direction, because everyone will feel the pain." FILE: Brussels, Belgium - Dec 15, 2025 6. Various of headquarters of European Commission Berlaymont building, EU flags FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Date Unknown 7. Various of White House, U.S. national flag FILE: Philadelphia, USA - October 2024 8. U.S. national flag Storyline U.S. President Donald Trump's potential tariff hike on European Union (EU) vehicles threatens to undermine the economy of Hungary, which serves as a critical production hub for German automakers, according to an expert. On May 1, Trump threatened to increase tariffs on cars and trucks imported from the EU to 25 percent next week. As the United States is a major export destination for EU vehicles, the tariff increase will inevitably affect the Hungarian automobile industry and even the Hungarian economy, said Gabor Varkonyi, an expert in Hungarian auto industry. "It will affect the Hungarian economy in every way. Based on short-term calculations, we are talking about an immediate loss of around 1 billion dollars in exports. In the long term, that figure will probably double, which is a sore point for the Hungarian economy," he said. The U.S. tariff increase will not only affect bilateral trade between the two sides, but will also disrupt the global automotive supply chain, eventually hurting everyone, said Varkonyi. "If this actually happens, the EU will be forced to respond with countermeasures towards the United States, and it will be hard to reverse the escalation. I sincerely hope that we are not going in that direction, because everyone will feel the pain," he said. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]