Mexico and Canada:

An announcement was made by President trump on the 6th March confirming the suspension of the 25% tariffs on goods qualifying as ‘originating’ under the USMCA trade agreement. This is in response to discussions with representatives from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis who stressed the financial impact these tariffs would have on the sector.

According to Ford CEO, Jim Farley, the imposition of the tariffs would significantly benefit EU, South Korean and Japanese manufacturers who import between 1.5m and 2m vehicles into the US each year as they would not be impacted by the 25% tariff.

The total vehicles imported from Mexico and Canada total 5.3m with most sold to US consumers and this presents a significant percentage of imports into the US, ultimately raising prices to the consumer and affecting the popularity of these brands.

China

Tariffs have recently been increased on Chinese originating goods from 10% to 20%.

In response to the tariffs, China has retaliated by introducing tariffs on US originating products as per below from 10 March 2025:

• 15% tariff on chicken, wheat, corn and cotton
• 10% tariff on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products

One key element of these tariffs confirms that if the goods have been shipped from the US and imported between March 10, 2025 and April 12, 2025, the additional tariffs will not be liable on import into China.

Future Measures

President Trump announced on 6 March 2025 that the US were continuing to review possible ‘Reciprocal Tariffs’ with an implantation date of 2 April 2025. At time of writing, the scope and impacted countries in unknown but we expect this to include the EU as the US President has made it clear that he considers there is an imbalance in trade between the US and EU.

How does this impact the EU?

Any EU businesses who sell goods to the US must remain vigilant and regularly monitor developments as these tariffs will create significant financial burden on the US customer and may require negotiations to maintain business.

It is also important to note that the tariffs on Chinese goods relate to the Origin. Any Chinese originating goods exported form the EU to the US will fall under the current 20% tariffs so businesses should review any impact this poses to the supply chain.

For companies who purchase goods from US suppliers, the likelihood of increased costs is real as many components are obtained from the Far East and will be impacted by these new tariffs.

Want to know more about this topic?

Please read the article on the website of our network partners Baker Tilly International in Ireland.