For Great Britain, the punitive tariffs are now finally history
Last week, the USA and Great Britain reached an agreement in the tariff dispute that was triggered by former US President Trump. The otherwise strategic partner Great Britain was just as affected as the EU. In the USA, special tariffs were imposed on steel and aluminum imports in 2018. Trump wanted to protect his own steel and aluminum industry according to the motto “America first”. In Great Britain and the EU, the response was to impose punitive tariffs on Harley-Davidsonmotorcycles , Levis jeans and Tennessee whiskey with a punitive tariff of 25%. For Harley-Davidson, this ultimately means 25% plus 6% import duty. In the second stage, there was a threat of doubling punitive tariffs in 2021.
Jo Biden restores original status.
Trading volumes are expected to return to levels before the 2018 dispute. The agreement in Great Britain could also serve as a template for the agreement between the EU and the USA. Although the issue is off the table for now, it has not yet been finally resolved, but we are already hearing about initial discussions at the political level about new free trade agreements.
The Harley-Davidson customer did not feel any financial impact from this process because the motorcycle manufacturer covered the additional costs; if there had been a further escalation, the outcome would certainly have been different. In general, prices are rising in all areas, including for companies, which has already led to price increases at Harley-Davidson this year. So we can be happy that the punitive tariff issue has been resolved in a similar way to the dispute over the aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing.
Let's hope that the EU and the USA will reach an agreement in the same way, the chances of that happening aren't bad.
Another article on the subject of punitive tariffs that could be interesting.
