French boat manufacturer suspends US orders ahead of tariff hike
Image courtesy of Nicolas Claris.
Amid ongoing uncertainty around upcoming tariff increases on European imports, Tiwal, a French manufacturer known for its inflatable sailboats, has announced a temporary suspension of all orders to the United States.
The company announced that it would pause the processing and shipping of boats and accessories to the US market, effective yesterday (23 July 2025), until further notice. The decision follows the recent announcement that US import duties on certain goods from Europe could rise by 30 per cent from 1 August.
Emmanuel Bertrand, Tiwal chief executive, tells Marine Industry News that the US represents the firm’s largest market, with a 33 per cent share of the firm’s total sales in 2024.
In a statement issued to the media and customers, Tiwal confirmed that, due to the instability of the economic situation, it will not resume sales until final tariffs are confirmed — Bertrand says this will “hopefully” be in a “couple of weeks”. The firm also says it will revise its pricing structure at that point to reflect any new cost implications.
Tiwal confirmed that it had been absorbing existing tariffs until 23 July, but that the tariffs would lead to inevitable price increases.
“A 30 per cent tariff increase will force us to hike up our prices,” says Bertrand. “It is unworkable with our current pricing. In any case, we will have to increase our pricing in August, since we have already been paying a 10 per cent additional tariff since last spring, and we are currently absorbing that extra cost. But we cannot carry on this way.”
The company has not provided a firm timeline for resuming shipments to the US, given the ongoing lack of clarity as the situation around US trade policy evolves.
Despite the suspension, existing US customers will still be able to order spare parts. As Bertrand puts it: “We are just a small boat manufacturer trying to please our customers.”
“Regarding our current customers, we will still be providing an after-sales service if needed,” Bertrand confirms. “As far as the prospective US customers are concerned, it is likely that the prices will be higher next month. We can just hope that the situation will be resolved quickly and in a smart way, so the prices can stay reasonable.”
Tiwal is one of several European marine brands affected by capricious US trade policy in recent months, particularly in the recreational and consumer goods sectors.
Trump has said that nearly every US trading partner will face fresh tariffs ranging from 15 per cent to 50 per cent next month, as he sets so-called reciprocal tariff rates ahead of an 1 August deadline.
“We’ll have a straight, simple tariff of anywhere between 15 per cent and 50 per cent,” Trump said on Wednesday (23 July 2025) at a summit in Washington. “A couple of — we have 50 because we haven’t been getting along with those countries too well.”
