As expected, President Donald Trump yesterday announced a sweeping suite of tariffs against imported goods from every United States trading partner, including 20% on European Union countries and 34% on China.
The tax includes a 10%, across-the-board increase on all countries. According to reporting by National Public Radio, the 10% minimum tariffs will go into effect April 5, and the higher reciprocal rates will go into effect April 9.
The tariffs will raise overall weighted-average tariffs to 23%, the highest in more than 100 years, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said during a White House press conference. “American steel workers, auto workers, farmers and skilled craftsmen — we have a lot of them here with us today — they really suffered gravely.”Of immediate concern to the marine industry are tariffs on items critical for manufacturing, including aluminum, steel, copper and petroleum-based products such as polyester, vinylester and epoxy resins, as well as engines and raw materials for plastics.
John DePersenaire, director of government affairs and sustainability at Viking Yacht Co., told Soundings Trade Only in January that the impact at Viking alone could be sizable. “We use MAN and MTU engines,” he said, “and we’re the master distributor for Princess Yachts in the Americas. We were looking at $40 million to $50 million in tariffs, potentially.”
Just the talk of tariffs prior to yesterday’s announcement has caused trouble for some builders. When Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all goods from Canada, Highfield Boats president Christophe Lavigne had just launched a new design in Canada. “I signed four dealers in Canada. The Canadian dollar dropped by 10% value,” he said. “They told me, ‘Cancel the order.’ I lost an order. It was all because of talk.”
According to the Associated Press, futures for the S&P 500 slumped 3.4% before today’s opening bell, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 2.8%. Nasdaq futures tumbled 3.8%.
Look for continued reporting on the tariffs and their impact on the marine industry in Trade Only Today.
