News / Don't rely on social media for tariff clarity, shippers warned

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‘Wait until it’s formal’, is the advice to shippers still in the dark after being promised US tariff clarity on 9 July.

Over the weekend, US president Donald Trump took to social media and threatened to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union from 1 August. 

However, James Hookham, director of the Global Shipper’s Forum (GSF), noted the high chance that “this will not be the last word”. 

“It would be premature to assume these are the tariff rates that will prevail,” he told The Loadstar. 

“The GSF advice is to rely only on the formal amendments to the US official Harmonised Tariff Schedule run by the Customs and Border Protection agency, and then to check carefully against the HS code for your goods, as rates may vary, some types of goods may be exempt and /or additional requirements may apply,” said Mr Hookham. 

“These changes will also be posted on the official Federal Register, the official record of US law-making. Don’t rely on social media posts,” he urged.  

On Saturday, EC president Ursula von der Leyen condemned the tariff rate proposed by Mr Trump.  

“Imposing 30% tariffs on EU exports would disrupt essential transatlantic supply chains, to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic,” she said.  

The Renew Europe Group in the European Parliament has also strongly condemned the proposal for 30% tariffs on EU goods and called on all parties to work to find a resolution.

Ahead of the meeting of EU trade ministers today, Renew Europe pushed for a response that “defends our strategic interests, protects jobs and industries, and upholds the principles of fair and rules-based trade”.

“Furthermore, the EU must not bow to Trump’s irresponsible threat to impose even higher tariffs if the EU reacts to the announcement of 30%,” it added.

MEP Marie-Pierre Védrenne, Renew Europe coordinator for international trade, urged: “The anti-coercion instrument must be put on the table at Monday’s Trade Council. I also call on the European Commission to swiftly finalise a package of targeted retaliatory measures. The first measures should be activated immediately, and the next ones must be ready for deployment.”

Indeed, Ms von der Leyen added that while the EC was open to negotiate an agreement by 1 August, it would also adopt “proportionate counter measures” if required. 

Mr Hookham warned that if implemented, these would be a burden on EU importers to identify and pay.  

“As the targeted products are highly specific, EU importers would be strongly advised to check carefully in the EU tariff (TARIC) by each classification code, should these measures be introduced,” he advised.  

Meanwhile, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum was optimistic that a deal could be reached in the next two weeks. 

“We believe, based on what our colleagues discussed yesterday, that we will reach an agreement with the US, and that we will, of course, achieve better conditions,” Ms Sheinbaum said on Saturday. 

And while no tariff levels have been solidified by an official White House official executive order, “what shippers do know is that there are active negotiations underway between their countries and the US government, and that the public threat of higher tariffs is used by the president to put pressure on the other side,” said Mr Hookham.