For subscribers
A guide to dodging Trump’s tariffs
How companies can lessen the blow from the American President’s assault on trade.
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Not a week goes by without new threats from US President Donald Trump to slap new duties on imports into America.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
The Economist
Follow topic:
In 1881, American customs officials stopped a suspicious shipment of sugar, believing its colour had been altered. Under the prevailing tariff code, the darker the colour, the lower the grade and the lighter the levy. A chemical test confirmed the officials were correct. The case went all the way to America’s Supreme Court, which determined that the importer could in fact alter merchandise so as to lower the duty rate, and therefore had done nothing wrong.
Not a week goes by without new threats from US President Donald Trump to slap new duties on imports into America. Wide-ranging tariffs risk becoming “existential” for companies, says Mr Edward Steiner of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, a law firm. For many, relocating production to America – Mr Trump’s desired outcome – remains prohibitively expensive. Companies are therefore likely to explore more creative approaches instead.
