Belgian exports to the United States could become 4 billion euro more expensive because of the import tariffs introduced by the Trump Administration. The figures come from a study that is quoted in an article in Wednesday’s edition of the financial daily ‘De Tijd’.
For the first time the Federal Economy Department has calculated the impact of the Trump Administration's tariffs on exports from Belgian companies to the United States.
In 2024 these exports from Belgium to the US amounted to 27.4 billion euro. Traders and companies in the US that imported products from Belgium last year had to pay a total of 258 million euro in tariffs.
Tariffs currently 17 times higher than in 2024
Based on tariffs that were in place on 1 October, the Federal Economy Department calculated that the duty levied on Belgian goods imported into the US could amount to between 4.17 billion and 4.38 billion euro this year.
The forecast is for the whole of 2025 and is based on the assumption that the volume of trade in 2025 will be the same as in 2024. This means that the cost of exporting Belgian products to the US could be as much as 17 times higher than it was a year ago.
The American customer foots the bill
It is the pharmaceutical industry that is most affected by the sharp increase in US import tariffs. According to the Economy Department study the industry exported 15.24 billion euro’s worth of pharmaceutical products to the US in 2024. This accounts for more than half of all Belgian exports to the United States.
If export levels are identical to last year the industry will have paid a total of 2.29 billion euro in import duty this year, compared with 300 million euro last year.
US consumers will be the ones that bear the brunt of the increased tariffs. The financial media outlet Bloomberg Economist reports that at Goldman Sachs say that 55% of the addition cost incurred by higher tariffs will be shouldered by US consumers this year.