The customs hotline was established by the government in the spring to provide advice and guidance to companies that are uncertain about how the US trade tariffs affect them. Now, the hotline is receiving calls almost daily.
Every day, the customs hotline receives calls from companies that have questions about the additional tariffs that the US has introduced in recent months, about tariffs that have been introduced but paused, about further tariffs that US President Donald Trump has flagged but postponed in different rounds, and about the EU's countermeasures.
This is stated by Maria Johem, a subject councilor at the National Board of Trade.
The questions come from companies of different sizes and in widely different industries. The common denominator is the concern.
Just the uncertainty regarding the tariffs on imports to the US is difficult for many small companies to handle, as well as the fact that many goods are covered by the additional tariffs. This was something that several companies did not count on when they entered into agreements, says Maria Johem.
Surprised companies
For many companies that have been affected by the already introduced tariffs on steel and aluminum, the damage has already been done. Among those who call the customs hotline are, for example, e-commerce companies and companies that are not specific steel and aluminum companies, but where the goods still contain steel or aluminum.
They have suddenly discovered that their goods are covered by, for example, the additional tariff for aluminum, says Maria Johem.
Some small companies feel that they have been incorrectly invoiced. Some may not even have understood that the tariffs have been raised in the US because they may not export so often and therefore have not kept up with all the developments that have taken place during the spring.
No relocation plans
However, Maria Johem has not noticed any signals that companies are planning to relocate their production to the US.
No, at least not among the smaller companies. Some have said that they might wait to sell products to the US until they know if there will be new additional tariffs on August 1. But few companies have expressed plans to move production there, she says.
What advice do you give to the companies?
We have to point to the information that is available and try to explain. But it is the decision of the US customs authority that applies when importing to the US, says Maria Johem.
Already in March this year, the US introduced additional tariffs of 25 percent on steel and aluminum imports from EU countries.
On June 4, the additional tariffs for these were increased by a further 25 percent, to 50 percent.
In April, the US introduced additional tariffs on the import of all goods, from all countries, of 10 percent.
Further additional tariffs that US President Donald Trump was to announce on July 9 were postponed and the tariff pause was extended until August 1. Donald Trump has now flagged that he wants to introduce a 30-percent tariff rate on goods from the EU from August 1, which he announced in a tariff letter addressed to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
After a crisis meeting in Brussels, it became clear that the EU is preparing specific counter-tariffs on American goods worth 72 billion euros. At the same time, the EU is keeping the door open for a negotiated solution with the US.
Source: National Board of Trade and Europaportalen.
