International Boating Community Urges US, EU Trade Officials to Remove Tariffs on Boats
Last week, NMMA, the International Council of Marine Industry Associations (ICOMIA), and the European Boating Industry (EBI) sent a letter to the United States (U.S.) and European Union (EU) trade officials applauding their recent progress on trade negotiations and urging them to reach an agreement that removes the EU’s 25 percent tariff on U.S. manufactured boats.
“Since 2018, the United States’ worldwide steel and aluminum tariffs have resulted in the EU’s 25 percent tariff on recreational boats, which has resulted in a thirty percent overall decline in U.S. boat exports to the EU, costing U.S. manufacturers more than $400 million since the retaliatory tariff went into effect. It has also impacted European consumers with higher prices and European companies, such as importers, dealers, after-sales and services, that sell these products.”
The letter continued, “To ensure free and fair trade, we strongly urge the U.S. and EU to simply build upon recent progress, recognize the harmful effects of the current trade dispute on our sector, and focus on achieving a swift and reasonable resolution to end the EU’s tariffs on boats and U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel.”
Click here to read the full letter.
For more information, please contact NMMA senior vice president of government and legal affairs, Nicole Vasilaros at [email protected] or NMMA director of federal government relations, Clay Crabtree at [email protected].