Amsterdam Bicycle Company pause US Ebike sales citing 50% tariffs

[Dewey]

Amsterdam Bicycle Company had for several years been importing Dutch built upright town e-bikes and cargo bikes from Azor and Bakfiets through Delaware. Today their website announced a pause in Ebike sales owing to 50% tariffs on steel or aluminum derived products from the EU

Amsterdam Bicycle Company is still importing non-electric pedal bicycles and cargo bikes.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Most courier companies stopped sending small parcels from Europe to the United States. FedEx seems to stay in the operation, not sure about UPS. I wonder whether the U.S. Customs service works at all, following the government shutdown.

 

[dblhelix]

Most courier companies stopped sending small parcels from Europe to the United States. FedEx seems to stay in the operation, not sure about UPS. I wonder whether the U.S. Customs service works at all, following the government shutdown.

Tariff collection continues, despite the shutdown. CBP is largely operational.

 

[dblhelix]

Amsterdam Bicycle Company had for several years been importing Dutch built upright town e-bikes and cargo bikes from Azor and Bakfiets through Delaware. Today their website announced a pause in Ebike sales owing to 50% tariffs on steel or aluminum derived products from the EU

I am not familiar with their business model. Don't most of these brands only ship on prepaid orders? That said, if I were a small foreign business, I would probably pause just to see if most tariffs get rolled back by the courts.

 

[Dewey]

I am not familiar with their business model. Don't most of these brands only ship on prepaid orders? That said, if I were a small foreign business, I would probably pause just to see if most tariffs get rolled back by the courts.

Yes, same as Workcycles.

 

[Dewey]

Most courier companies stopped sending small parcels from Europe to the United States.

Yes, disappointing this means I can’t use specialty suppliers like Dutch Bike Bits

 

[carl06]

I ordered some bike parts last week from Italy. Fed Ex direct billed me for the tariffs along with a 16 dollar processing fee. If you don't prepay Fed Ex, there would have been another 12 dollar fee to pay upon delivery. Received the parts 4 days from order date.

 

[osric]

Amsterdam has resumed shipping in the US but their prices went way up to reflect tariffs.

Alas, getting parts for Dutch bikes is nearly impossible — none of the shops I used to order from in Europe will ship to the US any longer (Rose Bikes, Holland Bike Shop, Dutch Bike Bits, Workcycles).

 

[stompandgo]

That's not just tariffs, that's manufacturers enforcing geographic restrictions. Ribble, Merlin, Bike24, etc. have been shut down shipping OEM parts to the US that can be bought through normal channels in the US. Grey market enforcement.

 

[osric]

That's not just tariffs, that's manufacturers enforcing geographic restrictions. Ribble, Merlin, Bike24, etc. have been shut down shipping OEM parts to the US that can be bought through normal channels in the US. Grey market enforcement.

The things I order from shops in Europe aren’t available from distributors in the US or Canada. Try finding a Hebie chain guard, Ursus Hopper, or nearly any brand of dynamo powered lights.

 

[Chargeride]

Im pretty sure this is the outcome they want from the tariffs

 

[stompandgo]

The things I order from shops in Europe aren’t available from distributors in the US or Canada. Try finding a Hebie chain guard, Ursus Hopper, or nearly any brand of dynamo powered lights.

Understood, but we cannot ignore the abuses of the past.

 

[PedalUma]

I love European bikes. It is so dumb to make enemies of natural allies. As dumb as demolishing half the white house. I have had custom made batteries stuck by the 'C' in ICE, Customs, heald at a warehouse at LAX for seven-weeks. No movement. Normally it takes 12-days from order to delivery. This is madness.

 

[stompandgo]

US customs has always been like that, across many administrations. Some deliveries go through in a day or two, others take weeks, months, or never make it. This is nothing new.

What's dumb is allowing small countries to tariff the hell out of, or outright ban, products from the largest consumer economy in the world.

 

[Dewey]

Amsterdam has resumed shipping in the US but their prices went way up to reflect tariffs.

Alas, getting parts for Dutch bikes is nearly impossible — none of the shops I used to order from in Europe will ship to the US any longer (Rose Bikes, Holland Bike Shop, Dutch Bike Bits, Workcycles).

Glad they resumed sales, sorry about the self-inflicted price increase that makes Cargo e-bikes more expensive for American parents, it’s not like this helps US competing brands like Bunch Bikes which also have to pay the tarrifs on their imported-from-China cargo trikes, this administration simply loves cars and hates alternatives - proven by actions like this and also the recent attempt by them to dig up the 15th St cycle track that crosses a major family destination the National Mall in Washington, DC (currently successfully challenged in court by WABA).

A message on the Amsterdam bicycle company website says “We're slowly resuming e-cargo bike sales to the US again, new and updated models will be added during the following weeks.” I’ve also noticed UK brands Brompton and Pashley sell their Ebike models direct to US customers with shipping and tariffs included in the retail price. And the departure of reputable EU brands from the US market including Riese and Müller. Like you I’m also disappointed at the (understandable given the circumstances) knee-jerk ban on shipping from many EU parts suppliers, although I note the BikeInn website shows they are shipping parts to the US from Spain including the Hebie Chainglider.

 

[LandoftheGiants]

Im pretty sure this is the outcome they want from the tariffs

They call it protectionism, circling the wagons in a time of economic stress. But to me it's just a money grab, and extra tax imposed on the citizens of a nation. It won't bring many jobs 'back home', that's just political cover stories.

Tariffs in the 1930s were dominated by the infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. Driven by protectionism following the 1929 stock market crash, the U.S. raised import duties on over 20,000 foreign goods by roughly 20% to shield domestic farmers and manufacturers. This sparked global retaliatory tariffs, causing worldwide trade to plummet

The global economy, of the West at least, is on the brink of a mighty collapse that will make the Great Depression look like a picnic I'm sure. The trigger is the debt of course, and when the system goes Blue-screen the last thing on people's minds will be difficulty getting pushbike parts from Europe, it will be getting enough food and paying the utilities etc. There is no escaping this reset, all one can do is prepare for it, get out of the debt trap etc etc.

 

[Dewey]

Amsterdam has resumed shipping in the US but their prices went way up to reflect tariffs.

Yes, it seems an electric bakfiets with the Shimano EP6 motor is selling for six grand from Amsterdam Bicycle Company. Comparable models include the Urban Arrow Family, now seven grand with the tariffs which is a tough sell when the Trek Fetch+ 4 with a Bosch Smart Performance motor is five grand msrp in the US currently.