BusinessEurope: European manufacturers battered by US duties. 73 per cent hurt by them

Brussels – The European business community agrees on one point: tariffs are eroding the competitiveness of European companies. Entrepreneurs complain above all about uncertainty about the future and about increasing tariffs, as well as inaccurate controls by the US Customs Agency in their application. The difficulties are many, and the industry calls for making the problem at least manageable.

These elements emerge from a survey conducted by BusinessEurope, the European organisation that brings together national business associations and large companies across sectors. The research surveyed 342 individuals from European companies and business federations.

Manufacturers’ concerns

The study shows that the impact of the US sanctions was negative across the board and affected the entire industrial fabric of the Union. For 73 per cent of respondents, the effect was moderate to negative. Tariffs were described as “eroding competitiveness” and “driving customers away” from European production. Of particular concern are the 50 per cent tariffs on aluminium, copper, and steel exports.

European companies were not only adversely affected by these tariffs but also complained of imprecise enforcement. The tariff cost is added to the customs charges required by the cross-border authorities in Washington. However, US controls are often untimely and inaccurate, with 18.3 per cent of respondents reporting delays or complications in the arrival of goods at specific ports of entry. In addition, in US customs, 15.8 per cent complain of imbalances due to staff shortages, while 14.3 per cent report errors in the classification of goods and thus in the calculation of tariffs. 

The uncertainty of duties 

The scenario is therefore completely penalising for European manufacturers. Companies, on the one hand, cannot renounce the US market: 68 per cent consider it the primary outlet for their products. On the other hand, they are victims of an uncertain US administration that is always ready to threaten new sanctions.

Uncertainty is, in fact, one of the most frequently cited problems. Its root lies in the genesis of these tariffs: the US administration imposed them by resorting to the “Section 232“, a provision of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 that allows the government to impose tariffs or restrictions on imports for national security reasons.

At the same time, however, information on who should pay and how much was often insufficient. Twenty-two per cent of respondents said they had difficulty understanding whether “our products are subject to duties or not,” and 47 per cent were “unsure of the long-term future or resolution of tariffs.“ 

The points for managing the crisis 

Without a clear idea of the coming years, it becomes impossible to draw up ambitious, thus competitive, business plans. For this reason, manufacturers outline three key points to weather the tariff storm. These elements may help the European Union better understand the needs of its own production machine, but they are of little significance without US scrutiny.

Firstly, the entrepreneurs demand the elimination or, if impossible, the stabilisation of tariffs. Furthermore, they call for at least a simplification of customs practices to reduce dysfunctions and delays. Finally, they urge the European Union to promote more regulatory cooperation between the two sides of the Atlantic. According to the manufacturing world, an already complex situation becomes even more difficult when two industrial systems with different standards are compared. The situation is therefore serious, and the minimum demand is to make it at least manageable.

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