Product categories most impacted by ariffs

US tariffs imposed since early 2025 have raised import costs sharply across dozens of product categories. From steel and aluminum to automotive vehicles and auto parts to apparel and footwear, here are the top product categories most impacted by US tariffs.

Steel and aluminum products face 50% tariffs as of June 4, 2025, doubled from the previous 25% rate, with the United Kingdom the only exception remaining at 25%. In August 2025, the Commerce Department expanded coverage to 407 additional product categories classified as "derivative" steel and aluminum products, affecting over $200 billion in annual imports.

The derivative expansion covers wind turbines, mobile cranes, bulldozers, heavy equipment, railcars, furniture, compressors, pumps, and consumer appliances, including refrigerators, freezers, and dryers. For derivative products, the 50% tariff applies to steel or aluminum content, while additional country-specific rates apply to the remaining value.

Automotive vehicles face 25% tariffs on imported cars and 27.5% for non-USMCA-compliant vehicles, effective May 3, 2025, covering engines, transmissions, batteries, and complete vehicles. Analysts estimate these tariffs add approximately $2,580 per vehicle, with year-one impacts projected at $41 billion combined for cars and parts.

Vehicles assembled in Canada and Mexico claiming USMCA exemption surged to 89.1% of imports by October 2025, up from roughly 35-50% pre-tariff, as automakers aggressively pursued duty-free status. Vehicle imports from China face higher effective rates when country-specific duties are combined with automotive tariffs, while USMCA-compliant vehicles from Canada and Mexico can avoid the 25% automotive levy if they meet the rules of origin.

Auto parts face 25% tariffs and 27.5% tariffs on non-USMCA-compliant parts for engines, transmissions, batteries, and thousands of component categories, effective May 3, 2025. The August 2025 steel and aluminum derivative expansion added automotive exhaust systems, electrical steel for electric vehicles, and numerous chassis components, axles, steel wiring, brackets, and mounts at 50% rates on metal content.

Apparel and footwear imports from key Asian manufacturing hubs face tariff increases ranging from 25% to 49%, with the average U.S. import tariff on apparel jumping from 14.5% to 30.6%. Vietnam faces 46% tariffs, though some compliant goods qualify for 20% rates, while products suspected of trans-shipment from China encounter 40%.

The result: Major brands like Adidas reported "double-digit million-euro" Q2 hits from tariffs, adding roughly 20 percentage points to levies on goods from Vietnam and Indonesia.

Industrial machinery is directly affected by tariffs applied on declared customs value, not volume. Section 301 tariffs of up to 25% apply to a wide range of machine tools, industrial robots, turbines, and heavy equipment imported from China. Because individual shipments can be valued in the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, a single tariff assessment can materially alter project economics or delay capital investment decisions.

Logistically, this has led to shipment deferrals, modularization of equipment to reclassify imports, and increased use of bonded warehouses and foreign trade zones. Project cargo now requires tariff planning alongside transport planning, as duty exposure often exceeds freight costs. Customs strategy has become a gating factor for factory expansions, energy projects, and infrastructure upgrades.

Softwood lumber and downstream wood products are directly affected by U.S. tariffs that exceed 20% in many cases, applied through a combination of countervailing and anti-dumping duties. These tariffs hit construction-critical inputs such as framing lumber, plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), and engineered wood products, all of which are essential for residential housing, commercial real estate, and infrastructure projects. Because lumber is a foundational input, tariff increases flow quickly into higher construction costs rather than being absorbed elsewhere in the supply chain.

The tariff increases stem from expanded use of Section 232 and Section 301 authorities, with the U.S. government citing national security, supply chain resilience, and unfair trade practices. In 2025, existing metal tariffs were doubled and extended beyond raw materials to finished and semi-finished goods, significantly widening the scope of products affected.

Derivative products are finished or semi-finished goods that contain steel or aluminum as a material input, such as vehicles, appliances, machinery, railcars, and construction equipment. These tariffs now apply to the metal content inside the product, dramatically expanding tariff exposure beyond traditional metal imports and impacting hundreds of billions of dollars in downstream trade.

Vehicles and auto parts that meet USMCA rules of origin can avoid the standard 25% automotive tariff. This has driven a sharp increase in compliance claims, particularly for vehicles assembled in Canada and Mexico. However, non-compliant vehicles and parts face higher effective rates, and failure to meet documentation or content thresholds can trigger retroactive duties.

Apparel and footwear have historically faced higher baseline U.S. tariffs and are largely excluded from free-trade carve-outs. In 2025, additional country-specific tariffs pushed effective rates as high as 49% for some Asian exporters. Because these products are labor-intensive and low-margin, tariffs often exceed transportation costs and directly drive sourcing and pricing decisions.

Tariffs influence where value is added, how goods are classified, and when they cross borders. Companies respond by shifting final assembly locations, increasing use of bonded warehouses and foreign trade zones, reconfiguring shipment sizes, and holding more inventory to manage uncertainty. In many cases, tariff exposure now outweighs freight cost as the dominant variable in logistics planning.