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parts that include imported steel. Some
observers expect prices for U.S.-made
steel will also rise as tariffs on imports
take some of the pricing pressure off U.S.
steel producers.
That’s just one of the ways tariffs could
affect forklift buyers and suppliers. A second round of tariffs, which took effect in
early July, will raise the costs of some forklifts imported from China. Previously,
Chinese-made powered industrial trucks,
like all foreign-manufactured forklifts,
entered the U.S. duty-free. But the 25-per-
cent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese-manufactured goods that took effect July
6 apply to several categories of electric
and nonelectric rider-type forklifts as
well as some parts and components.
According to U.S. Department of
Commerce figures quoted by ITA, industrial trucks and parts worth approximately $538 million were imported from
China in 2017; the 25-percent tariff would
add an estimated $134 million to the cost
of those items. Examples of Chinese-made forklifts sold in the United States
include the Baoli, Liu Gong, Hangcha,
Heli, Noblelift, and BYD brands. A few
U.S.-based companies sell trucks manufactured in China under their own brands
and/or include Chinese-made parts in
forklifts they assemble here.
Currently, China imposes a 9-percent
duty on U.S.-made industrial trucks. If it
should decide to add a retaliatory 25-per-
cent tariff on top of that, that would add
$13 million in costs to the $53 million of
U.S.-made equipment sold in that country in 2017, according to the Commerce
Department and ITA. The organization’s
position is that all tariffs on lift trucks
should be eliminated, Feehan says.
While the battle over tariffs has heated
up, NAFTA negotiations were on hiatus
at press time. The biggest worry for lift
truck makers is that the U.S. could make
good on President Trump’s threat to do
away with the trade pact if he doesn’t get
the concessions he wants. The United
States has also threatened to temporarily
suspend the treaty until negotiations have
concluded to its satisfaction.
U.S. lift truck makers agree that NAFTA
needs modernization to reflect today’s
business climate, expand U.S. manufac-
turing, and make American prod-
ucts more competitive. But, Feehan
cautions, “let’s not lose sight of the
fact that it’s been very valuable to
all three parties. From the forklift
industry’s perspective, NAFTA has
been extremely effective.”
The numbers make that crystal
clear. The U.S. exports more than
$900 million of powered industri-
al trucks annually to Canada and
Mexico, with a combined trade sur-
plus with those countries exceed-
ing $460 million in 2016. Should
NAFTA be eliminated or temporar-
ily suspended, U.S.-made forklifts
