When Americans think about tariffs, their minds typically stop at the point when U.S. Customs and Border Protection collects the duties from the importer at the port. Recreational marine export consultant Julie Balzano knows how to trace their effects down the line.
“Tariffs on imports don’t stop at the port,” Balzano, the founder and principal consultant at Florida-registered Global Connect Marketing Services, told Trade Only Today. “They ripple through and eventually show up in prices. The new 15% duty [on imports from European Union countries], plus a weaker dollar against the euro, pushed landed costs up fast.
“In the near term, some [recreational marine] brands absorb part of it; others reprice midseason,” she said. “Fast-forward a season or two, and it will be easier to see the fallout as distributors place smaller orders, builders re-spec away from European parts and dealers carry fewer options.”
Balzano said these impacts hit budgets, timelines and market confidence.
“From my seat as a global consultant, I’m seeing real uncertainty,” she said. “One longtime client recently paused expanded marketing after EU sales stalled, and a French prospect delayed its U.S. market entry efforts. The pattern is real, although still manageable, for now. However, if this dynamic persists, it will get much harder to navigate.”
The agreement that the Trump administration reached with the EU in July called for many goods imported from the European bloc to be subject to a 15% tariff as of Aug. 1, including boats and equipment.
Philip Easthill, secretary general at European Boating Industry, acknowledged that the United States is the most important overseas market for Europe’s boating industry, both for finished vessels and equipment.
“Pressure on margins is of course considerable from the [U.S.] tariffs, especially for small and medium-sized manufacturers that form the backbone of our industry,” Easthill told Trade Only Today. “We are closely consulting with all our members to understand the developments on the ground and bring these messages to the EU institutions.”
Easthill added that “it remains important to highlight to policymakers that we are not competing in the same market segments by and large, and competition for either EU- or U.S.-built boats is not ourselves, but other leisure activities. Losing potential customers is therefore negative for the entire sector and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Easthill said EBI is “in constant dialogue” with the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, to closely monitor the effects of the tariffs.
“Now that the worst of a trade war has been avoided and some certainty is restored, it is important to build and extend the trans-Atlantic trade relationship for the benefit of industry on both sides,” he said.
“In parallel, we are in close contact with the EU institutions to support companies through broader measures on their home markets, reduce regulatory burden and ensure that we can grow, innovate, improve environmental performance and stay competitive,” Easthill added. “Looking ahead, EBI is working with the EU Commission to ensure that the specific concerns of our sector are fully understood and considered in any ongoing or future negotiations with the U.S.”
Trade expert Tamara Kay told Trade Only Today that the tariffs “are already making goods from Europe more expensive for U.S. importers, many of whom are raising prices on goods from wine and pharmaceuticals to pianos. They are also looking for new markets and new trade deals with Canada and Latin America.
“While not all goods can be substituted, the new Canada-Mexico Partnership and the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement provide significant incentives for Canada and the EU to find alternative trading partners,” added Kay, Andrew W. Mellon professor in the sociology department at the University of Pittsburgh and co-editor of the interdisciplinary journal Studies in Comparative International Development, which focuses on political, social, economic and environmental change. “U.S.-imposed tariffs will also impact the behavior of European and Canadian businesses, and consumers who are already actively looking for non-U.S. products to purchase and promote.”
About half of all boats that the U.S. exports traditionally go to Canada, but President Trump’s tariff campaign and talk of pressuring our northern neighbor to become the 51st U.S. state could be hurting sales there this year.
NMMA Canada told Trade Only Today that “consumer sentiment in Canada has shifted toward ‘buy Canadian,’ but hard data specific to boat purchases is limited.
“Multiple national polls this year show majorities of Canadians avoiding U.S. goods or buying more Canadian products,” NMMA added.
Those polls include an Angus Reid survey from February that found 78% of respondents saying they’re buying more Canadian products and 59% saying they would boycott U.S. products, and an Ipsos survey from February to September in which two-thirds of respondents said they were avoiding U.S. goods or travel.
NMMA said the Ipsos survey trend persisted into late September, with 56% of respondents buying more Canadian goods and 58% avoiding American goods.
“Public data isolating Canadian retail demand for U.S.-built boats since the tariff talk began isn’t yet available,” NMMA Canada said. “NMMA’s latest U.S. data shows overall industry softness tied to interest rates and uncertainty, which also influences Canadian buyers. Canadian importers and dealers describe heightened price sensitivity, more questions about origin and delivery timing, and some deferrals.”
The NMMA said it and NMMA Canada’s priority is “ensuring the [U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement] is renewed in 2026 in order to provide more predictable trade policy that keeps marine manufacturing competitive.”
From the Canadian perspective, the NMMA said that if a Canadian marine product qualifies under the USMCA, it remains duty-free when it enters the U.S.
“If it doesn’t qualify, the extra U.S. tariff can apply,” NMMA Canada said. “However, there are several separate tariffs that can ‘stack,’ and thus affect inputs when the finished product is CUSMA-duty-free, such as the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum.”
The U.S. imposes those Section 232 tariffs under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
NMMA Canada said that in late July the Trump administration raised its special tariff on non-qualifying Canadian goods from 25% to 35%, effective Aug. 1. Goods that meet the agreement’s rules of origin are exempt.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance underscores that CUSMA-compliant goods avoid the added [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] tariff; items that don’t meet origin rules — or contain significant non-North American content — can still be subject to tariffs,” NMMA said. “Companies should work closely with brokers on product origin documentation.”
“Many Canadian marine exports that qualify under [USMCA] continue to enter the U.S. tariff-free, but it’s not ‘business as usual,’ ” NMMA added. “Manufacturers face more paperwork, origin reviews and planning around other trade measures.”
Kay said President Trump’s tariffs “are creating a hot mess for importers, exporters and consumers, and until the administration faces significant pushback, it will likely continue its chaos-creating policy. It is therefore important for importers who interface with the public to tell consumers and customers unequivocally that ‘Trump tariffs’ are making their wine, medicine, pianos and other goods more expensive.
“There are always trade winners and trade losers,” Kay added. “Although the administration claims this ‘tariff revenue’ is a win for the U.S., the financial pain is usually paid by U.S. consumers, hitting lower-income households the hardest.”
At the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference in Tampa, Fla., next Tuesday there will be a 90-minute seminar at 4 p.m. on managing tariffs, trade and supply chain risk that is expected to look ahead to the renegotiation of the USMCA and ways that the marine industry can speak in a unified voice to its respective governments.
The speakers will include Peter Barrett, senior executive vice president of marketing and corporate development at Smoker Craft; Robyn Boerstling, NMMA chief advocacy officer and senior vice president of government relations; and Marie-France MacKinnon, executive director of NMMA Canada.
Balzano will be at IBEX, and she expects a generally upbeat conference.
“IBEX’s international footprint keeps growing, and based on on-the-ground updates from my Global Marine Business Advisors colleagues who attended most of the major European shows this fall, the overall mood was cautiously positive, with buyers in attendance and robust networking conversations occurring,” Balzano said.
“I expect that same tone to carry over in Tampa. Not a big departure from prior years, including pragmatic conversations around tariffs and re-specs, and perhaps an increased interest in new innovations that save time or justify price.”
