Boat makers now face 210 percent tariffs on Chinese aluminum

Boat manufacturers say the escalating trade dispute with China took another bad turn this week that could scuttle sales of aluminum boats popular in Wisconsin.

In the billions of dollars of tariffs that President Donald Trump’s administration has proposed on Chinese goods, a new tariff of 167 percent on the type of aluminum used for recreational boats would bring the total tariff on that product to at least 210 percent.

“This is terrible news for marine manufacturers as aluminum boats represent 44 percent of new boat sales each year and account for $3 billion in retail sales,” Thom Dammrich, president of the Chicago-based National Marine Manufacturers, said Wednesday.