Tariffs 2025: How to prepare your US business contracts to deal with the current situation?
These are the tariffs in force for companies in the EU:
Sector/Product -Tariff -Effective date
Steel and aluminium-25%-12 March
Automotive-25%-3 April
Reciprocal tariffs world-wide-10%- 5 April
Reciprocal tariffs EU-20%- Expected 9 April, but postponed until 9 July.
Exemptions:
Annex II products (critical minerals, fuels, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors)
Imports from Canada and Mexico have special regimes under TMEC(USMCA)
Retaliation by other countries:
Postponed 90 days (15/04) first package of EU countermeasures on US for tariffs on aluminium and aluminium.
Mid-April second EU countermeasures package on steel and aluminium tariffs.
Recommendations for minimising the impact of tariffs:
1) It is possible to reduce the tax base of the trade bill on which the tariffs will be applied. For example by changing the Incoterm.
2) It is not possible to pass the goods through another country to avoid tariffs. What is required by customs is the certificate of origin. If the origin is EU it will be the tariffs applied in the European Union.
3) If you are worried about the exchange rate in your export operations, as it is difficult to control, the recommendation is to take out exchange rate insurance.
The essence of the problem tariffs and contract:
- Traders seek transactions that generate profits.
- Tariffs substantially increase the cost of goods affected by expected profits.
- Flexible vs. inflexible contract.
- How to structure contracts legally to deal with these variables.
In World Ocean Cargo Ibérica we can advise you about the tariffs that your company is going to pay when importing the goods or when exporting.
Do not hesitate to contact us to solve these concerns.
