EU trade measures would mainly affect high-tech imports from US

© ANP / Lex van Lieshout
If the European Commission follows through on the import tariffs it has announced on US goods, they could affect around 30 percent of goods (by value) imported into the Netherlands from the US. These are mainly high-tech products such as medical equipment, measuring instruments and data technology, as well as semi-finished chemical products. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on the basis of the latest reports and figures on international trade with the US.
The United States is currently considering imposing an additional 30 percent import tariff on all imports from the European Union with effect from 1 August 2025. In response, the European Commission is proposing tariffs on goods imports from the US worth 93 billion euros. Over 19 billion euros’ worth of those goods would arrive in the Netherlands - around 30 percent (by value) of Dutch goods imports from the US based on 2024 figures.

The EU has announced two packages. The first largely concerns a 25 percent import tariff on goods imports worth 21 billion euros. This has already been enacted in a directive due to take effect on 6 August. EU member states are still discussing the exact details of a second package worth 72 billion euros. The scale of the tariffs under consideration is therefore far greater than previous retaliatory measures. In 2018, the EU imposed retaliatory tariffs on US goods, but they only involved an import value of 267 million euros for the Netherlands.

Most US imports affected arrive in Germany and the Netherlands

Around 21 percent of the 93 billion euros’ worth of US goods on which the EU could impose tariffs enter Europe through the Netherlands. This means that the Netherlands will be responsible for implementing more of these tariffs than any other EU member state except Germany. However, over half of the Netherlands’ imports from the US are re-exported, and this will limit the economic impact on the Netherlands.



Although import tariffs involve additional costs for European importers and consumers, they also generate revenues. Member states forward 75 percent of the duties collected to the EU, but are allowed to retain 25 percent for themselves. If the proposed package is implemented in full with an average tariff of 25 percent, it is estimated that this could bring in 1.5 billion euros to the Dutch treasury.

Medical and technical equipment are the largest items

Key product groups that could be affected include medical equipment (import value into the Netherlands of 2.5 billion euros in 2024), data and measuring instruments, manufactured goods and chemical products. For the EU as a whole, the main product group affected would be aircraft components. These groups are all included in package 2, which mainly consists of high-tech products. Package 1 mainly includes ordinary consumer products such as perfumes, cosmetics, as well as oil seeds and fruit.



On 14 July, the EU reduced the previously published consultation list of 4,900 product codes worth 95 billion to a package worth 72 billion euros. At the time of writing, it is not known which products in the package will actually be affected. The above analysis is therefore based on the old product list worth 95 billion, after converting the (totals and shares in) import flows to the value of 72 billion.

Events are ongoing and it is possible that the situation may have changed by the time this news release is published: a deal may have been reached between the US and the EU, or a different package may have been agreed. Because of recent events and questions from media and policymakers on this subject, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has decided to publish this news release nonetheless.

Sources

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