Primary Products, Manufacturing (excludes F&B), Government:
Latest Developments
Further to our earlier reporting, latest developments are as follows:
- On 11 April, a US Presidential Memorandum(external link), ‘Clarification of Exceptions Under Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025, as Amended’, significantly expanded the list of semiconductor-related products exempt from the US’ 10% additional ‘reciprocal’ tariffs; the list of tariff lines exempt are specified in the Memorandum.
- This exemption, like others currently in place, may only be temporary, with the Administration announcing national security investigations on semiconductors, as well as pharmaceuticals and critical minerals (see below).
Recap: Current status for New Zealand exports to the US
- A 10% additional tariff applies to most New Zealand goods entering the US, on top of existing US tariffs, as per Executive Order 14257(external link).
- After a ’90-day pause’ on the higher tariffs on 56 countries/economies was announced(external link) on 9 April, the same tariff currently applies to US imports from almost all countries, with the exception of:
- China (145% additional tariff),
- Canada and Mexico (0% under the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement [USMCA], 25% outside USMCA; sectoral tariffs apply)
It is not clear what will happen at the end of the 90-day ‘pause’ for countries whose ‘reciprocal tariff’ was above 10%.
- The Tariff Finder(external link) has been updated to set out the total tariffs applicable to New Zealand goods trading into the US, for each US tariff line. It specifies, on a tariff line basis, whether the 10% additional tariff applies, or a 25% sector-specific tariff, or the tariff line is currently exempt from additional tariffs (noted below). Please contact us with any questions.
- Current exceptions to the 10% additional tariff are as follows (as set out in Sec. 3(b) of Executive Order 14257):
- a 25% additional sectoral tariff applies to imports of steel(external link), aluminium(external link), including products and derivatives; and automobiles and some automobile parts(external link), instead of the additional 10% tariff.
- Products currently exempt from the 10% additional tariff are: copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber/timber, certain critical minerals, and energy and energy products listed in Annex II of Executive Order 14257(external link), plus the additional semiconductor-related products specified by tariff code in Presidential Memorandum of 11 April(external link), ‘Clarification of Exceptions Under Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025, as Amended’.
- Please note that these products may be subject to sector-specific tariffs in future; the US has already commenced national security investigations into:
- Copper (in all forms)(external link) (announced 25 February)
- Timber, lumber, and derivative products (external link)(1 March)
- Processed critical minerals and derivative products(external link) (15 April)
- Pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients(external link) (16 April)
- Semiconductors and semiconductor-manufacturing equipment(external link) (16 April)
- Please note that these products may be subject to sector-specific tariffs in future; the US has already commenced national security investigations into:
Please contact us with any further questions on us.exports@mfat.govt.nz
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