The French Federation of Beauty Companies has just published a study conducted by the Asterès consultancy, which suggests that the introduction of US taxes on its exports could cost the sector more than €600 million in exports and nearly 11,000 French jobs.
As soon as the introduction of 15% US customs duties on many European products, which had previously been exempt from customs duties across the Atlantic, was announced at the end of July, the French beauty industry became concerned about the consequences.
However, in addition to this initial 15% rate on many finished products, the situation worsened on August 19 with additional 50% tariffs on metal components (steel, aluminum, etc.) used in product packaging (sprays, makeup boxes, etc.). The situation is further aggravated by an increasingly unfavorable euro-dollar exchange rate.
The United States: the leading market for French beauty products
For French beauty companies, which rank second among French industries with a very large trade surplus (€2.4 billion for €2.9 billion in exports in 2024!) with the United States, the leading destination for French cosmetics exports, half of which are perfumes, the cost of this new tariff barrier will inevitably be steep…
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