Country tariff overview · DE
Germany Tariffs to the United States
Germany is the largest US trading partner in the European Union. German-origin goods face the base HTS rate plus the IEEPA country tariff applied to EU goods. There are no broad-based US Section 301 or Section 232 measures specifically targeting Germany, but selective antidumping orders and historical EU aerospace dispute measures have applied at various points.
IEEPA country tariff applied to EU goods
Germany, as an EU member state, is subject to the IEEPA country tariff applied to EU origin. Industrial goods that previously carried only a base HTS rate now stack the IEEPA layer on top. For machinery at a 4.4% base rate, the combined duty has commonly been around 14.4% under the prevailing IEEPA framework. Verify current rates before contracting.
AD/CVD orders to watch
Selective AD/CVD orders cover certain German steel products (cold-rolled, hot-rolled, corrosion-resistant steel), wire rod, pasta, and a small number of other categories. Producer-specific rates apply. The largest historical trade dispute affecting German goods was the Boeing/Airbus WTO case, which resulted in retaliatory tariffs that have since been suspended.
Industries where Germany dominates US imports
Industrial machinery and machine tools, automobiles and automotive parts (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi), pharmaceuticals and chemicals, and precision instruments. Many German goods do not have substitute US-domestic production, making the IEEPA cost increase largely pass-through to US customers.
Origin documentation
Goods produced in Germany are German origin under CBP's substantial transformation test in nearly all cases. Origin documentation is straightforward — supplier declarations, invoice country-of-origin statements, and the standard EUR.1 or commercial invoice statement of origin. EU goods do not have a US preferential trade agreement; there is no EU-equivalent of USMCA for tariff reduction.
Sample HTS rates from Germany
Sample rates illustrate the duty layers that apply at the chapter or heading level — verify the precise 10-digit HTS code and current policy via the HTS code lookup before filing entry.
| HTS prefix | Description | Base rate | Additional layers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8703.23 | Passenger vehicles (1500–3000cc) | 2.5% | IEEPA EU rate applies |
| 8457.10 | Machining centers | 4.4% | IEEPA EU rate applies |
| 9018.90 | Other medical instruments | Free | IEEPA EU rate applies |
| 8536.20 | Automatic circuit breakers (under 1000V) | 2.7% | IEEPA EU rate applies |
| 3004.20 | Pharmaceutical preparations w/ antibiotics | Free | IEEPA EU rate applies |
| 7208.36 | Hot-rolled coils | Free | AD/CVD on certain German hot-rolled steel |
For an exact 10-digit HTS code with current rates, use the HTS code lookup. To compute total landed cost including MPF and HMF, use the landed cost calculator.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Section 301 apply to German goods?
- No — Section 301 specifically targets Chinese-origin goods. German goods are not subject to Section 301.
- Why are German goods more expensive to import than they used to be?
- The IEEPA country tariff added a 10% layer on top of the base HTS duty for EU goods (rates have been adjusted multiple times since 2025). German industrial machinery that carried only a 4.4% duty now commonly carries 14.4% — a 3× duty increase that has affected pricing across the German export-dependent industrial sector.
- Is there a free trade agreement between the US and the EU?
- No. There has never been a comprehensive US-EU trade agreement. Goods from Germany and other EU member states pay the standard base HTS rate plus the IEEPA country tariff applicable to EU origin.
Apply this to your products
Compute the full duty stack for any product from Germany — and watch for rate changes.
Related in-depth guides
Background on the trade-policy mechanisms that drive duty rates from this country.