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 the US tariffs landscape, focusing on recent deals and the specific status of the Cook Islands, as well as the impact on US companies as of October 2025.
US Tariffs: Deals and Agreements Update
The current administration has been actively using the threat of tariffs to drive bilateral negotiations, resulting in a complex system of implemented and threatened duties.
Partner/Region | Current Status (October 2025) | Key Details |
China | Hostilities Resumed | Temporary truce has ended. The US currently has multiple tariffs in place (Reciprocal: ≈10% and "Fentanyl": 20%). A 100% additional tariff has been threatened for Nov. 1 in response to China's rare earth export controls. |
Cook Islands | Political & Trade Engagement | No major trade deal has been announced to exempt them from the global 10% baseline reciprocal tariff. The US is actively engaged on deep seabed mineral exploration and capacity building, suggesting a focus on strategic security/supply chain partnerships over broad trade exemptions. |
Global Baseline | 10% Reciprocal Tariff | A universal 10% reciprocal tariff remains in effect for most countries not subject to other sanctions or a special agreement. |
Canada & Mexico | USMCA Exemption (Mostly) | Tariffs initially imposed in February 2025 were mostly mitigated by an exemption for goods compliant with the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement). |
Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines | Preliminary Agreements | The US announced preliminary agreements with these countries (and others) between April and August 2025, which may offer modified or reduced tariff rates in exchange for reciprocal concessions. |
Europe (EU) & Japan | Negotiations Ongoing | The US has been engaged in talks with the EU and Japan to reduce or cap certain tariffs, such as those on steel, aluminum, and autos. Japan, in particular, has been subject to Section 232 and new reciprocal tariffs. |
Targeted Sectors | New Tariffs Implemented/Threatened | New duties have been recently announced or implemented on specific sectors, including: heavy-duty trucks (25%), pharmaceuticals (100%), and wood products (e.g., kitchen cabinets up to 50% by next year). |
Specific Status of the Cook Islands
While the Cook Islands do not have a major bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. that exempts them from tariffs, they are impacted by current U.S. policy in two main ways:
Direct Tariff Impact: Imports from the Cook Islands are subject to the global 10% baseline reciprocal tariff imposed by the U.S.
Indirect Economic Impact: The local economy is feeling indirect effects from the global trade turmoil, with the Cook Islands Chamber of Commerce expressing concern over:
Global Supply Chain Disruption: Potential for higher costs on essential imports.
Financial Market Volatility: The Cook Islands National Superannuation Fund (CINSF) reported negative returns earlier in 2025 due to global market declines caused by U.S. tariff announcements.
Strategic Focus: The US is actively working with the Cook Islands on non-trade-related initiatives, particularly on deep-sea mineral research and exploration, which is a key strategic priority for the U.S. in the Pacific.
Impact on US Companies and Consumers
The broad application of tariffs is having a direct financial and strategic impact on US businesses:
Impact Area | Key Finding (October 2025) | Affected Companies/Sectors |
Cost Absorption & Pricing | Companies and retailers are absorbing a significant portion of the tariff costs but are slowly starting to pass them to consumers. Imported goods prices are up ≈5%, and domestic prices are up ≈2.5%. | Retailers, Importers, Consumers |
Increased Input Costs | Tariffs on key inputs like steel, aluminum, and wood are driving up manufacturing and construction costs. This adds ≈$1,000 to the cost of a new home. | Construction, Housing, Furniture Manufacturers (even domestic ones) |
Supply Chain Shifts | Companies are beginning to actively reroute or shift supply chains to countries with lower tariffs, such as Vietnam. However, there are no signs of a major reshoring to the US yet, due to high labor costs and other domestic challenges. | Global Manufacturing, Logistics, and Freight Carriers |
Sector-Specific Shock | Newly-implemented and threatened tariffs create major financial uncertainty for specific industries. | Automotive/Trucking (25% on heavy-duty trucks), Pharmaceuticals (threatened 100%), Home Goods (kitchen cabinets/furniture up to 50%). |
Financial Burden | The tariffs are effectively a tax on US firms and households, substantially increasing government revenue but failing to show a clear positive impact on the overall US trade balance or manufacturing employment levels. | All Importing Businesses (paying the duties), Households (facing higher consumer prices) |
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 |