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
The United States has implemented new, sweeping tariff measures in 2025, which have had a notable and negative impact on businesses in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), despite the BVI's minimal material exports to the US.
Here is an update on US Tariffs, Deals, and the impact on the British Virgin Islands:
US Tariffs & British Virgin Islands (BVI) Status
Area | Status (October 2025) | Key Details |
US Reciprocal Tariff Rate | 10% (Implemented since April 2025) | The BVI, as a non-exempt trading partner, is subject to the general 10% "reciprocal tariff" on most goods exported to the US. The BVI is also a designated Caribbean Basin country under U.S. trade law, but the new tariffs apply regardless of this designation. |
End of De Minimis Exemption | Revoked (Effective August 2025) | The U.S. eliminated the duty-free de minimis exemption (for shipments valued under $800) globally. This is a critical factor impacting BVI commerce. |
BVI Parcel Shipments | Temporary Suspension | Following the de minimis revocation, the BVI Postal Service announced a temporary suspension of all mail items containing goods bound for the US and its territories, citing uncertainty over new customs procedures. |
Impact on British Virgin Islands Companies
The primary impact on BVI companies is not on their own (minimal) material exports to the US, but on their imports and general operational costs.
Increased Import/Freight Costs: The new global tariff regime, coupled with the loss of the de minimis exemption, has led to a significant increase in the landed cost of goods imported into the BVI. Many goods destined for the BVI are routed through the US, and this has resulted in:
Delays in shipping or delivery (reported by 27.3% of surveyed firms).
Increase in freight or customs costs.
Higher Prices for Consumers: Nearly half of the surveyed BVI firms (45.5%) reported "significant" price hikes on imported goods like food and fuel in the past six months.
Business Uncertainty: A survey by the BVI Chamber of Commerce found that nearly half of responding firms (45.5%) had been adversely hit by the tariff regime.
Financial Services Sector: Firms in the BVI's dominant financial services sector are also affected, with reported concerns over global market volatility, reduced foreign investment, and client uncertainty or hesitation.
Relevant Deals and Agreements
The BVI does not have a new, specific trade agreement with the U.S. that exempts it from the new reciprocal tariffs.
The U.S. has reached preliminary tariff-limiting agreements with several major partners (e.g., the UK, EU, Japan), which often cap their overall reciprocal tariff rate at an agreed level.
While the BVI is a British Overseas Territory, the specific tariff caps negotiated in the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal primarily apply to the exports of the United Kingdom itself, not automatically to all British Overseas Territories for the new reciprocal tariffs.
The BVI is a beneficiary of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) / Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), which provides duty-free entry for many of its products into the U.S. However, the new reciprocal tariffs imposed in 2025 operate on different legal authority (IEEPA) and are currently applied in addition to or instead of other trade program rates.
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 |