White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and other Trump administration officials will meet Tuesday with representatives of European automakers Volkswagen, BMW, and Daimler in Washington, D.C., to discuss trade policy, according to administration officials.

The meeting, reported by Reuters, comes as the Trump administration is weighing whether to slap tariffs on auto imports.

The move appears to be an effort by the White House to circumvent the usual trade policy negotiations process. The European Commission handles trade negotiations on behalf of its members. The Trump administration requested the meeting with the auto bosses to attempt to leverage their support.

[Read more: Washington backlash tests GM's resolve on factory closings, layoffs]

"We are worried about tariffs. The German automotive industry relies on open markets," a senior German car executive told Reuters. "Countries have interests that they intend to pursue. We will look at addressing these issues. In this context, we appreciate the talks are taking place, it is better to talk with each other than about each other."

The Commerce Department completed a report several months ago on auto trade issues that is widely expected to be used by the administration as a justification for the imposition of tariffs. The release of the report was delayed months ago following the outcome of the U.S. election and talks with the administration's EU counterparts. An administration official told Reuters the report was still at least several weeks off.

European leaders expressed frustration's with the administration's move. "Responsibility for trade negotiations rests with the European Commission … certainly not with the automotive companies,” Steffen Seibert, spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said Monday.

[Related: Rattled auto industry braces for 'extremely painful' fallout from Trump's tariffs]