As the United States prepares to unleash tariffs on imported motorcycles today — in certain cases by as high as 35 per cent — local dealers seemed unruffled.

Price increases from the tariffs were being offset by Bermuda’s cancellation of 36.5 per cent import duty on motor vehicle parts, effective July 1.

Scooter Mart president Nick Thomson called the Government’s move a “great relief”.

“This creates a much lower-risk environment for Bermudian businesses to invest in spare parts inventory,” he said. “This translates to faster and cheaper repairs and maintenance for customers, and better compensation for technicians and service centre staff.”

However, he said there are other costs pummelling the island’s cycle repair shops and dealerships.

There is still import duty on the motorcycles themselves, and what he called “other unnecessary costs”.

“For example, we are required to import using 20ft containers, which increases the cost of each motorcycle by at least $200,” he said. “This is $200 that does not even go to the Bermuda Government, it is just pure inefficiency, evaporated into thin air.”

In the US, motorcycle enthusiasts are bracing for impact from the tariffs, with some experts calling it the death knell for popular brands such as Harley-Davidson.

Although Harley-Davidson motorcycles are mostly put together in the US, parts come from other countries hit by the taxes such as Taiwan, Japan, Italy, Germany and Mexico.

Meanwhile, Honda earlier this year promised to absorb costs from the tariffs so that motorcycle purchasers do not feel them.

Motorcycle dealer Jason Cuoco, vice-president of sales and purchasing at World Distributors, said his customers will not see any price hikes as a result of the tariffs, thanks to the duty removal.

“It is definitely not going to impact us like it would have,” Mr Cuoco said. “What the Government has done will help us a lot.”

However, he thought it would take a little while for some Bermuda companies to feel the positive impact from the Government’s actions.

“Most of them have loads of stock in the warehouse,” he said.

One local dealership revealed they had deliberately stocked up to avoid tariff-related price hikes.

Mr Cuoco said when Donald Trump implemented similar tariffs during his first time in office it did force their prices up.

This time he thought there would be less of a hit because the tariffs will be placed on goods purchased in the US, not those passing through the country.

Another motorcycle shop manager, who did not wish to be named, was also grateful for the cancellation on import duty for spare parts, but said it did not apply to all items.

“I still have to pay 35 per cent duty on spark plugs,” he said. “I found that out the hard way when I filled out my paperwork for customs and got a call back about it.”

Each year he sells hundreds of spark plugs, with the consumer spending anywhere from $10 to $20, depending on the brand.

“You also still have to pay 35 per cent duty on cycle locks,” he said.

The Ministry of Finance explained that these items were not included because they are not exclusively used for, or classified, as motor vehicle parts under the customs tariff.

“These items have distinct tariff codes and were not intended to be impacted by recent amendments to motor vehicle-related classifications,” the ministry said. “Spark plugs fall under Heading 85.11, which covers electrical ignition equipment. Bicycle locks are categorised separately and do not fall under motor vehicle components.”