Expanded US tariffs threaten €2.8bn of EU construction equipment exports

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The news comes after the US administration extended existing tariffs on steel and aluminium to 400 additional customs codes, bringing construction and mining machinery into scope.

Under the new regime, 50% tariffs apply to the value of a machine’s steel content, alongside a 15% baseline tariff on the rest of the unit. This means the effective rate will vary between 15% and close to 50%, depending on the composition.

CECE said the new measures cover 80% of EU exports of construction equipment to the US. Total exports in 2024 reached €3.49 billion, accounting for 27% of extra-EU shipments.

Riccardo Viaggi, CECE secretary general, urged the European Commission to secure an exemption for construction machinery, warning that the duties would increase costs, create legal risks and impose a heavy administrative burden on manufacturers. He also pointed to the additional uncertainty caused by Washington’s decision to review the tariff list every four months.

Industry groups have cautioned that the US construction sector, already under pressure from a slowdown, could face further disruption if equipment costs rise for both imported and domestically produced machines.

CECE’s is the latest in a series of warnings from the construction equipment industry both in the US and outside its borders about the inflationary effect of tariffs.

At the end of August, Caterpillar increased its estimate of the additional net cost of tariffs on its business, putting it in the range of $1.5 to $1.8 billion in 2025.

Meanwhille, JCB last month warned that the expansion of the scope of tariffs would cost the UK-based manufacturer “hundreds of millions”. It called on the UK government to intervene and carve out an exemption for construction equipment.