San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow would love for his deputies to be able to take delivery of a new patrol aircraft. But there’s a hitch — a pricey one.
The Austrian-made plane appears to be subject to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The tariffs would tack on $350,000 to the plane’s base price, which runs around $3 million, Withrow told Stocktonia.
For now, there’s a good reason not to rush delivery. Withrow said he hopes the president will sign a tariff waiver covering equipment for law enforcement and the military. But the wait can’t go on forever; the county may have to pony up the money for the tariff.
The plane, which is in Utah being outfitted for service, would replace one that has been in operation for several years. Trying to bring in the new aircraft has been ordeal.
“We had a lot of work getting it in-country. It came from Austria to Canada. When we were coming across the border, they were going to hit us with the tariffs, and we still don’t know” if that is going to happen, Withrow told the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors last week. “They didn’t tell us anything about the tariffs then, but we’ve been working with somebody from the National Security Council” to try to resolve the issue.
Trump imposed tariffs on imports from more than 90 countries over the summer. He justified the taxes as helping to level the playing field for fair trade between the U.S. and foreign nations.
The BBC listed the tariff on Austria at the time as 15%. Many tariffs went into effect Aug. 7. But the rates have been a moving target, with some countries winning delays, making deals with the U.S. or wangling a lower rate.