More tariffs may be on the way soon for several industries, as the President and his appointees in the office of the US Trade Representative have expressed that they would be investigating new areas to impose tariffs as a method of trade remedy.
For many months, exporters from Europe of wine have been worried about the potential imposition of a new tariff on wines. The dispute originally was based around exports of French wines, but additional determinations on Italian wines coming to the USA may also be subject to these duties.
The central dispute of these tariffs comes from what Europe calls “digital service taxes” which are taxes that are imposed on digital advertising but are written to target almost exclusively American tech giants like Facebook and Google. The US Trade Representative offices have repeatedly taken issue with these as unfair taxes on American firms, and have seen tariffs as a vehicle for a response.
The looming threat of tariffs on European-made autos has also recently come back into play, as during recent remarks in Maine the President addressed European tariffs and restrictions on exports of lobster to the EU. Tariffs on European cars and trucks have been floated several times over the last few years, as price-sensitive commodities like cars could see huge hits in sales from even small price increases.
These additional tariffs would likely be imposed under the same laws that have allowed the imposition of tariffs on products from China, which will be good news for their drawback eligibility as they will be able to be claimed once the product is exported or destroyed.
All importers and exporters in the United States need to be prepared for new tariffs and regulations that change. If you have any questions about how these tariffs affect your company and your ability to seek drawback refunds, Please contact us at www.jmrodgers.com
Sincerely,
James Rodgers CEO
