The EU Commission has today announced retaliatory tariffs on US products, including recreational boats, in response to the US Administration’s steel and aluminium tariffs.
European Boating Industry (EBI) strongly opposes these tariffs and highlights the potential risks to European businesses and the entire value chain. EBI urges both sides to engage in careful negotiations over the coming days and weeks to resolve this urgent issue.
The imposition of retaliatory tariffs, as seen between 2018 and 2021, would have significant negative consequences. Tariffs disrupt businesses, hinder economic growth and jeopardise jobs, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that form the backbone of the boating industry in Europe and the EU as a whole. It is important to note that these tariffs are unrelated to the recreational boating sector, arising from the dispute over steel and aluminium.
They would negatively impact European industry and the EU’s competitiveness goals and carry unintended consequences. The permanent removal of tariffs on unrelated sectors, such as recreational boats, would instead support economic growth on both sides of the Atlantic. EBI is engaging in ongoing dialogue with the EU Commission, its partners the US and other affected European sectors. The recreational boating industry, uniquely ‘Made In Europe’, consists of over 32,000 businesses and directly employs more than 280,000 people. Over 96% of businesses in the sector are SMEs.
