The world trade overhauled: 5 questions about the American taxes

This article was last updated on August 7, 2025

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The world trade overhauled: 5 questions about the American taxes

From today, new input loads apply to products from abroad in the United States. The EU and the US closed an agreement just in the nick of time last week. For most European products, a 15 percent input tax will now be levied in the US. Because much is still unclear here five basic questions about the American taxes.

What is an input tax?

An import tax is a tax that companies have to pay for things they get from abroad. Such a load is often intended to protect its own market against cheaper products from abroad. In recent decades, taxes have been reduced worldwide. The number of trade agreements between countries, in which it has been agreed, has also increased sharply.

The advantages and disadvantages of import duties

Who pays the input load?

If you have heard US President Trump talking in recent months, it sometimes seems as if this is a tax on countries or foreign companies, but that is not the case. In fact, the introduction of these import taxes is just a substantial tax increase for American companies that get things from abroad. They therefore pay the levy.

It is possible that companies that export to America will reduce their prices slightly in order to still be able to sell things to American customers. But that differs per sector and even per company.

Until now it appears that American companies are by far the majority for their own account. Because Trump has made no secret of his plans to introduce the taxes, many companies have taken great stocks this year before the taxes went in. At the moment, the Americans do not notice the tax increase that much. Many companies have also waited to calculate the tax to their customers. There was still hope that Trump would not implement the taxes to a lesser extent, but now that the first agreements have been concluded, it is expected that the Americans will notice in the wallet in a few months.

Are we not going to notice anything?

European companies that export to America already notice something. Since April there has been an input tax of 10 percent on products from Europe. On steel, iron and aluminum that is even 50 percent. It differs per sector and also per company how much they notice, but companies that make products that an American alternative is for, will feel that their products are suddenly a lot more expensive due to the taxes.

We as a consumer notice relatively little of it. After all, the taxes are paid in the United States, but it is possible that at some point we will also see some products more expensive. Companies in the US can choose to make their products a little more expensive worldwide, so that they can pay for the taxes and if not to put the bill completely with the American consumer. For the time being it is still too early to determine whether this will actually happen.

Is there a way to bypass the taxes?

There is no legal way to bypass the American tax authorities. Companies that try to ship their product through a country with a lower levy to the US violate the law. Trump has also announced that it will increase the taxes by 40 percent if such a construction is used.

Many companies have found a way to spread the pain a bit. They store their products under lock and key in warehouses in the United States. Only when they actually need the products do they indicate the goods at customs and are released. In this way, companies can spread the costs of the taxes over a few months instead of a lot.

What will this mean for the US economy?

The expectation is that many products in the US will become more expensive in the coming months. Even things that America are made often consist of raw materials from outside the US.

It will also have consequences in the longer term. Trump hopes that more and more companies will produce again in America, but that takes time and will most likely not immediately lead to lower prices. For all other countries it will mean that America will play a different role in world trade and what exactly this will mean is not yet clear.