US import tariffs: what's going on

Donald Trump's 'America first' statement is widely known. The US president wants his country to become richer and more powerful again. With higher import duties in the US, he wants to make a fist against other big players in the market, like China and the European Union.

'America first!'

By making products from other parts of the world more expensive, Trump wants to make American products more attractive to residents of his country. Cars, for example. In 2024, half of new cars in the United States came from abroad. The president wants Americans to choose brands like Ford, Chevrolet, and Tesla more often. The idea behind this? If Americans buy mostly stuff made in their own country, it will create more American jobs and give the economy extra support.

What are import tariffs? 

Import tariffs, or import duties, are a kind of tax. Importers pay these for importing products from another country and marketing them in their own country. Import duties are mainly there to protect a country's own industry.

What is happening?

When you import products, you often pay import duty. If your country has a trade agreement with an other country, you may pay less import duty, or none at all. 

On 27 July 2025, the EU and the US concluded a deal on higher American import tariffs. As a result, since 7 August 2025, most EU products have been subject to a 15% import duty. This does not apply to aluminium, copper and steel products. The import duty on these products remains at 50%.

Additional 10% levy will not go ahead

There will be no additional US import tariffs. This was decided by Trump on 21 January 2026 after talks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

On 17 January 2026, Trump threatened to impose an additional 10% import duty on Dutch products from 1 February 2026. This additional levy was to be added to the existing 15% levy. This is because the Netherlands sent military personnel to Greenland. Trump wants to make Greenland part of the US. In addition to products from the Netherlands, this threat also applied to producta from Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Norway, the UK and Sweden.

What are the consequences?

When imports become significantly more expensive for US companies, there are several consequences. In America, and here.

In America, importers are going to pay more for products from another country. They may make less profit as a result. Or they pass on the extra costs to business customers and consumers. In time, American entrepreneurs may choose to buy products and raw materials domestically. This will reduce international trade. 

So, the first effects of the new policy are mainly felt in America itself. After that, the rest of the world will soon follow. Dutch entrepreneurs may lose customers in America. They may have to work hard on their relationships. Or renegotiate prices to keep their customers.

If trade with America declines, forwarders, carriers, and ports will also feel it. Exporters will have to look for new customers.

How big are the consequences?

What exactly the impact of America's direction will be is difficult to estimate at the moment. It may also depend on the product you sell as an entrepreneur. For a producer of specialised agricultural machinery, business may go on as if nothing is wrong. An exporting wine producer might suffer a lot.

Trump changes his course regularly, and that makes predicting difficult. On 2 April, the US president first shared the import rates the US was going to charge. The import tariffs for China rose several times in the following days. This as the country took a hard line and in turn announced levies on US products.

Response Europe

The EU has responded by imposing additional import tariffs on American products, such as jeans, motorcycles and aeroplanes. The EU was set to increase import duties on American products from 7 August 2025, but this has been postponed by six months. However, the EU may use this as a countermeasure to the additional American levies.

Trump policy timeline

Even before the elections, Donald Trump was talking about import levies. Now that he is president, he is changing policy. This is generating news every week. The timeline below lists the most important events.