Ease of doing business
theboardiQ Tariffs Dashboard:
Powering Mutually Beneficial Global Trade.
Understand the complexities of international tariffs and ease of doing business across nations to cultivate balanced trade relationships, streamline operations, and deliver cost savings to end consumers.
Implications
Here is an update on US tariffs, with a focus on deals, the status of Benin, and the general impact on companies as of October 2025.
1. Deals and Agreements Status
The general U.S. tariff landscape is dominated by a 10% baseline reciprocal tariff on imports from almost all non-sanctioned countries that do not have a trade deal with the US.
Partner/Group | Status (October 2025) | Key Details |
China | Truce Ended / Escalation | Hostilities have re-escalated, with the US threatening an additional 100% tariff on all Chinese goods by November 1, 2025, in response to China's new rare earth export controls. Existing tariffs remain. |
Preliminary Agreements | Signed | The Administration has announced preliminary agreements with seven partners between April and August 2025, including the UK, EU, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, likely capping or exempting them from some of the reciprocal tariff increases. |
Canada / Mexico | USMCA Exceptions | Goods qualifying under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) generally remain duty-free. However, non-compliant goods face high tariffs (e.g., Canada faces a 35% rate on some goods). |
New Sectoral Tariffs | Multiple Announcements | New product-specific tariffs have been announced or implemented on goods like medium/heavy-duty trucks (25%), pharmaceutical products (100%), and certain furniture/wood products (25-50%). |
2. Benin's Tariff and Trade Status
Benin is a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union and has a bilateral investment treaty with the US.
Area | Status (October 2025) | Key Details |
AGOA Eligibility | Eligible | Benin is still eligible for trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows many of its goods to enter the U.S. market duty-free. |
Reciprocal Tariff | 10% Baseline (Applicable to non-AGOA goods) | Since Benin does not have a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) with the US, any imported goods that do not qualify under the AGOA preferential program are likely subject to the general 10% baseline reciprocal tariff imposed on non-FTA countries. |
Trade Volume | Relatively Small | U.S. goods trade with Benin is small, minimizing its overall exposure compared to major trading partners. |
3. Companies and Economic Impact
The sweeping tariff increases implemented in 2025 have had a significant and complex impact on businesses globally.
Impact Area | Details (October 2025) |
Increased Costs | The tariffs are predominantly being paid by U.S. firms and are often passed on to consumers. Studies show the tariffs are raising costs for essential consumer goods, such as furniture and household appliances. |
Supply Chain Disruption | Companies are rapidly being forced to re-evaluate and re-route their supply chains to "tariff-free" countries, or increase prices. The latest tariffs on trucks, furniture, and pharmaceuticals will further accelerate this trend. |
Investment Uncertainty | The constant, unpredicted introduction of new tariffs (e.g., on copper, heavy-duty trucks, furniture, and pharmaceuticals) creates high regulatory and business uncertainty, often leading to delayed or canceled investment decisions. |
Manufacturing Goals | While tariffs are intended to boost domestic manufacturing, some economists suggest the tariffs are instead shrinking advanced manufacturing industries (which rely on tariffed inputs like steel, aluminum, and components) while showing only modest gains in other sectors. |
Global Enforcement | New mechanisms, such as a 40% penalty tariff on goods found to be illegally transshipped (re-routed through a low-tariff country to avoid duties), are creating new compliance risks for global logistics companies. |
US Revised Tariffs
Country Tariffs
Balance of Trade
Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in countries, prepared by U.S. Embassies worldwide, Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
Tariff Rate for US
World Bank staff estimates using the World Integrated Trade Solution system, based on tariff data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's Trade Analysis and Information System ( TRAINS ) database and global imports data from the United Nations Statistics Division's Comtrade database.
US Imports Guide
United States Imports from Countries during 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. United States Imports from Countries- data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on April of 2025.
Investing in USA
theboardiQ Economic Relevance Score, ranks States of USA based on 11 parameters
Sources : Forbes | USDA Economic Research | TCGen Total Innovation Rank Index | Best States for Manufacturing | World Population Review | Tax Foundation | US News | BEA Data | Wikipedia | International Trade Administration
theboardiQ's Economic Relevance Score provides a comprehensive, data-driven assessment of a nation's economic vitality and global significance. This score is meticulously calculated using 11 key parameters, each reflecting a critical facet of economic performance. It analyzes the representation of Fortune 500 companies within a nation, a strong indicator of its business environment and market size. The balance of trade surplus or deficit reveals the nation's international competitiveness and export strength. It incorporates Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a fundamental measure of overall economic output, and examine the health of key sectors like agriculture and manufacturing. The score also accounts for innovation, gauging a nation's ability to drive future growth through technological advancements. Crucial labor market indicators such as employment rates are considered, alongside fiscal policies reflected in tax rates. To capture the lived experience of citizens, it assesses cost of living and disposable income, providing insight into purchasing power and economic well-being. Finally, education levels are integrated, recognizing their pivotal role in fostering a skilled workforce and driving long-term economic development. By synthesizing these 11 parameters, theboardiQ's Economic Relevance Score delivers a nuanced and holistic view of a nation's economic standing, enabling informed strategic decisions. The Top 5 States in the assessment are Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida and Washington. Texas does consistently well across most of the 11 variables especially in the areas of GDP, F500 representation in the State, Balance of Trade where it ranks 2nd nationally. North Carolina scores as the highest-ranking state nationally in manufacturing and performs consistently across the other variables. Virginia does well in disposable income where it ranks 3rd nationally. It also scores high in the variables of manufacturing and employment Florida holds the 4th ranking nationally for GDP and Tax Washington State scores the top spot for disposable income nationally, 2nd for education and 3rd for innovation. Colorado, with an overall rank of 7 scores the top spot for Education (schools and higher education). Nebraska, that ranked 10th overall, did well in Agriculture where it is ranked 3rd nationally as well as Trade Balance where it ranked 5th. Illinois, though ranked 20th overall did well nationally in F500 representation, GDP, Agriculture, and Disposable Income. Pennsylvania comes in at 21 overall doing well nationally in GDP (6th); Manufacturing (8th) and F500 representation (8th) New York scores 23rd overall with a 2 ranking in Disposable Income nationally, as well as 3rd in both F500 representation and GDP. California comes in at 29th overall and has the top spot ranking in a whopping 4 variables nationally – GDP, Innovation, Agriculture and F500 representation. However, performance in the areas of Trade Balance, Cost of Living, Tax, Manufacturing and Employment resulted in the overall ranking dipping. Wyoming at 30th overall scores the top spot nationally in the area of Tax Massachusetts at 31 overall does well in innovation where it is ranked 2nd nationally Arkansas at 36 and Alabama at 39, do well in overall Cost of Living where they are ranked 2nd and 3rd nationally, respectively. Louisiana ranked 44th overall is ranked 1st in Trade Balance nationally.
Economic
Relevance
Ranking
State | Info | Overall Rank | Agri | Innov | Mfg | Employ | Tax | Edu | GDP | F500 Rep | Trade Balance | Cost of Living | Disp Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Texas | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 42 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 13 | |
North Carolina | 2 | 9 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 28 | 11 | 16 | 41 | 17 | 17 | |
Virginia | 3 | 32 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 28 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 34 | 35 | 3 | |
Florida | 4 | 21 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 7 | 40 | 30 | 37 | |
Washington | 5 | 16 | 3 | 36 | 28 | 45 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 9 | 43 | 1 | |
Missouri | 6 | 11 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 13 | 32 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 10 | 20 | |
Georgia | 7 | 15 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 26 | 34 | 8 | 9 | 43 | 26 | 19 | |
Minnesota | 8 | 6 | 10 | 47 | 6 | 44 | 8 | 20 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 9 | |
Ohio | 9 | 12 | 32 | 7 | 30 | 35 | 36 | 7 | 5 | 38 | 15 | 11 | |
Illinois | 10 | 5 | 23 | 31 | 23 | 37 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 47 | 32 | 7 |